Some 1,000 pilgrims from Mozambique will arrive in Jeddah for this year’s Haj in three separate groups, according to Mozambican Ambassador Cesar Gouveia.

“I’ll be traveling to Jeddah to welcome the pilgrims headed by Valijei on Tuesday. Their number is up from 800 last year,” Gouveia, who’s also the Mozambican permanent representative in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said.

The envoy said that most of these pilgrims have performed Haj before. He assumed his post in the Kingdom on May 6 last year with the establishment of the Mozambican Embassy in the Saudi capital.

“The pilgrims expressed their gratitude to the Saudi leadership for the smooth procedures at the airport, the transportation, accommodation, food catering and medical facilities,” the envoy said.

He said that Mozambique has a quota for 1,000 pilgrims only because there are few Muslims in his country but his government is planning to talk to Saudi authorities about raising the quota as the number of Mozambican pilgrims is expected to increase in the coming years.