JEDDAH, 2 February —Sri Lanka’s Muslim Religious Affairs Minister Rauff Hakeem is heading his country’s Haj goodwill mission. “He is arriving soon with a seven-member delegation which will include high level officials and dignitaries,” Consul General A.C.M. Ibrahim told Arab News yesterday.
The minister was on a visit to the city earlier when he discussed arrangements for 7,000 pilgrims coming from the island state with various Haj authorities and agencies. The number is 1,300 more than last year. The first group of pilgrims will come by a Haj chartered flight from Colombo on Feb. 11.
He said the decades-old Ceylon House at Makkah, currently being spruced up, will provide free accommodation to about 40 poor pilgrims of the country.
Ibrahim said medical arrangements for the pilgrims will be additionally supervised by a team of four doctors coming from the island. There will also be an ambulance available for any emergency. Over a dozen volunteers from the local community will be complementing the efforts in assisting pilgrims at Makkah and Madinah.
Ibrahim said there were three Muslim ministers in the 40-member cabinet of the present coalition government in Sri Lanka. The island’s 20 million population includes 15 percent Tamil and eight percent Muslim minorities.
He said bilateral trade was steadily growing. “Imports of Sri Lankan tea into the Kingdom especially were on the increase,” he added.
The consul general said his recent visit to Yanbu was meant to explore the possibility of establishing a local expatriate society of the community. Such societies exist in Madinah and Jeddah. The Jeddah society recently elected a new 23-member executive committee for the year, with Shantha Adikari as the president, said the consul general who is its patron.
Meanwhile, the embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah are gearing up for the 53rd anniversary of the country’s independence. Flag hoisting ceremonies will be presided over by Ambassador Nowfel Saly Jabir in Riyadh and the consul general in Jeddah at their respective chancery premises at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
