JEDDAH, 13 June 2004 — India’s Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed will be visiting the Kingdom from June 13-16, according to Hifzur Rahman, consul (press and information) at the Consulate General of India here.
The visit is at the invitation of Haj Minister Iyad Madani and the two ministers are to discuss arrangements for Indian pilgrims for the next Haj.
Other members of the delegation accompanying Ahamed are: Tanveer Ahmed, chairman, Haj Committee of India, Hasan Baqar Kazimi, vice chairman, Haj Committee of India, Muzaffar Khan, member, Haj Committee of India, and R. Dayakar, joint secretary (Gulf/Haj) in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.
The arrangements for last year’s Haj were excellent and drew praise from most of the pilgrims.
Some 120,000 Indian pilgrims are expected to perform Haj next year. Most of them come through the Haj committee.
Ahamed, a top leader of the Indian Union Muslim League from Kerala, will hold talks on ways to make the arrangements even better for the next Haj.
The minister will also visit Makkah and Madinah, and interact with members of the Indian community.
