JEDDAH, 21 April — Haj Minister Iyad Madani has urged domestic Haj service companies to extend excellent services to pilgrims. “We have licensed these companies not as charities but to provide top-class services to the guests of God,” the minister said, while opening a meeting in Jeddah on the proposed merger of some of the domestic Haj service companies in Jeddah yesterday.
The meeting was organized by King Fahd Haj Research Institute, an affiliate of Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah. Madani said the ministry was seeking to reduce the number of the service providers to improve performance. “We hope that this meeting will come out with scientific and useful solutions that will help the ministry in formulating its strategy for the future.”
The ministry has licensed 590 companies to serve domestic pilgrims. “We had issued licenses to these companies without applying any criteria,” he added.
The minister said fixing rates for the services of these companies was not feasible as their rates vary depending on the services provided.
Dr. Osama Al-Bar, principal of King Fahd Haj Research Institute, said the Haj service companies serve only 20 percent of the domestic pilgrims.
