Lieutenant General His Excellency Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Yahya, Chairman of the Makkah Route Initiative Committee and Advisor to the Saudi Interior Minister, arrived in the Maldives tonight to attend the historic inauguration of the Makkah Route Initiative for Maldivian pilgrims.
He was warmly welcomed at Velana International Airport by the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, along with senior officials from the Saudi Embassy in the Maldives.
Joining him in the high-level Saudi delegation were His Excellency Major General Abdul Monem bin Abdulrahman Al-Mahmoud, Director General of Hajj, Umrah and Endowment Department at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Makkah Mohammed bin Nasir Al-Hallaf, Secretary General of the Makkah Route Initiative Steering Committee.
The Maldives was granted inclusion in the Makkah Route Initiative through special consideration by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who waived the usual eligibility requirements for participation.
The official inauguration ceremony of the Makkah Route Initiative will be held tomorrow at noon at Velana International Airport. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu will officiate the event, marking a key milestone in the government’s commitment to improving services for Maldivian pilgrims.
