PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today 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.
Anwar in his Facebook posting said during the hour-long meeting at Perdana Putra, here, discussions were held on initiatives that can be implemented to improve cooperation in sectors like tourism, education, investment and trade.
“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.
Yesterday, Mohd Na’im during his meeting with Tawfiq had expressed 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 an Honorary Doctorate by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) yesterday, for his enormous contributions towards resolving Hajj and umrah issues. – BERNAMA
