Mauritius plans to open an embassy in the Kingdom soon, an official from that country’s government said here recently.

“The Mauritius government has already taken the decision to open the fully fledged embassy. We are shortly going to sign the memorandum of understanding with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Showkutally Soodhun, the Indian Ocean island’s vice-prime minister, and housing and lands minister.

He said the embassy would strengthen the country’s relations with the Kingdom and support Haj and Umrah pilgrims.

“This will also help boost our economic and trade relationship.”

Soodhun, who was in the Kingdom with the representatives of his country’s Haj delegation, said he met Haj Minister Bandar Al-Hajjar to discuss arrangements for pilgrims.

Soodhun said he asked Al-Hajjar to increase his country’s quota but understood that the expansion underway at the holy sites was causing the restrictions. He said there was currently a waiting list of 4,000 people who want to perform the pilgrimage.

Soodhun said there were no direct flights from Mauritius to Saudi Arabia and pilgrims have been flying on Emirates via Dubai to reach the Kingdom. Emirates runs two flights daily to Mauritius from Dubai.

He said Mauritius has intensified efforts to promote tourism in a bid to attract more travelers from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf. About 4,000 visitors from Saudi Arabia visited Mauritius in 2014. There are no visa requirements for Saudis.

Most hotels and restaurants, he said, provide halal food. Besides the beach, Mauritius offers other activities on the island. Most tourists are from Europe.