PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received a courtesy call from Saudi Arabia’s minister for Hajj and Umrah Dr Tawfiq Fawzan Al-Rabiah and discussed bilateral relationships that included issues related to quota for haj and umrah
Tawfiq who is on a three-day working visit to Malaysia starting Sunday, was accompanied by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar in the courtesy call on Tuesday (Feb 28).
Anwar said in his Facebook post that discussions were held on initiatives that can be implemented to improve cooperation in sectors like tourism, education, investment and trade during the hour-long meeting at Perdana Putra.
"It is hoped that the existing close relationship between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia can be strengthened further for the benefit of Malaysians and for Muslims in general,” said Anwar.
On Monday (Feb 27) Mohd Na’im had expressed during his meeting with Tawfiq Malaysia’s hope of increasing the Hajj quota from 31,600 this year to 31,950 next year, based on an increase in the country’s population.
During his visit to Malaysia, Tawfiq was awarded a Honorary Doctorate by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) yesterday, for his enormous contributions towards resolving Hajj and umrah issues. - Bernama
