Sri Lanka signs Haj agreement with Saudi Arabia

MOHAMMED RASOOLDEEN

JEDDAH : Vidura Wickramanayaka, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs signed the Haj agreement with  the Saudi Haj and Umrah minister Dr.Tawfiq bin Fawzan AlRabiah on Sunday Jan 7.

Minister Wickremanayake is leading a Haj delegation to Saudi Arabia to sign the Haj agreement between Sri Lanka and the Kingdom.

The Lankan delegation includes the minister, Director of the department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Faizal Abdeen, Haj Committee Chairman Ibrahim Sahib Ansar,Haj Committee member Ifhas Nabuhan and representatives from two main Haj operators associations namely Rizmi Reyal and Abdul Cader Badurdeen Mohammed Careem.

The Sri Lankan ambassador in Riyadh P M Amza and Sri Lanka Consul General in Jeddah Falah Alhabshi Mowlana joined the visiting delegation during the meetings in Jeddah.

Ambassador Amza told Colombo Times that it was a successful meeting with the Saudi minister and Sri Lanka got a quota for 3,500 pilgrims for the upcoming season as in the past. 

Saudi minister AlRabiah said he was happy with the Sri Lankan pilgrims who are well disciplined and have a clean record of pilgrimage in the two Holy cities.

In a TV interview, the Sri Lankan minister said that Saudi Arabia has been with Sri Lanka in good and bad times.The Kingdom.has helped Sri Lanka during the oil crisis and has been readily providing employment opportunities to several thousands of Sri Lankans in Saudi Arabia.