Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have signed a bilateral document on the “Route to Mecca” which will ease the visit of Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims to the kingdom.
Under the Route to Mecca service agreement, Hajis (Pilgrims) would be able to complete their immigration in Dhaka prior to their departure to Saudi Arabia.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan briefed reporters after a meeting with visiting Deputy Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Dawood at the Home Ministry on Sunday.
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Bangladesh is the first country with whom Saudi Arabia has signed Route to Mecca service agreement considering the "excellent relations" between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Another MoU on security cooperation was also signed between the two countries.
Security cooperation includes capacity building, skills development and exchange of visits between members of the security forces.
The home minister said earlier that Bangladeshis had to wait in long queues for the immigration process to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. But from now, the immigration process for going to the KSA for Hajj will be completed in Dhaka due to signing the “Route to Mecca” MoU.
About the Rohingya issue, the home minister said that about three lakh Rohingyas are staying in Saudi Arabia and many have Bangladeshi passports.
“The Saudi government wanted the renewal of their passports. We have given them assurance to consider the issue. Besides, we also sought the cooperation of the Saudi government to send the Rohingyas back to Myanmar,” he said.
