By Mohammed Sumaih

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

MAKKAH — Under the support of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the Institute for Haj and Umrah Research at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah will organize the 19th annual symposium on the Haj and Umrah in Madinah from Wednesday.

On behalf of King Salman, Madinah Emir Prince Faisal Bin Salman will attend the opening ceremony.

The participating researchers and representatives of government departments and private establishments will discuss the latest scientific studies concerning the Haj, Umrah and religious visits to the Kingdom.

Sami Barhameen, dean of the institute, said the symposium, which is held every year alternately in Makkah and Madinah, is aimed at highlighting the Kingdom’s efforts in the service of the guests of God.

He said the recommendations of the symposium would be forwarded to the ministries and private establishments concerned with Haj services to take decisions on.

“The recommendations will be commensurate with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 to facilitate the performance of the Haj and Umrah, increase the intake capacity of the Grand Mosque and activate the role of the private sector in Haj services,” he said.

Mazen Al-Shamrani, undersecretary of the institute, said the symposium will have six sessions over two days and will discuss the scientific, administrative, engineering, environmental, health and technical aspects related to the Haj and Umrah, and religious visit to the holy city of Madinah.

He said there would be about 220 scientific papers on different topics to be tackled at the symposium. Shamrani said the organizing committee already received more than 90 studies and working papers, which will be discussed by the participants.

He explained that the first and second sessions would handle the media, environment and health aspects while the third would highlight the Kingdom’s efforts in the services of the pilgrims and visitors.

Shamrani said the fourth and fifth sessions would discuss the architectural and engineering aspects while the sixth and final session would be dedicated for the technological applications.