المملكة: Muhammad Qazi Amin "Coordinating pilgrims abroad" In an interview with "today": Limiting ownership to Saudis supports nationalization

First, tell us about the Coordination Council for companies providing services to pilgrims abroad and its current and previous role?

The Coordination Council for companies providing services to pilgrims abroad is a council. A Saudi person with an independent legal personality and has his own organizational and administrative entity through which he carries out his business

within the regulations in force in the Kingdom, and is subject to the supervision of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and is directly linked to the Minister and his deputy, and is based in Mecca, and is the coordinating arm of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

And companies providing services to pilgrims abroad. It was established in 1408 AH and was called the Coordinating Body for the Institutions of the Heads of Sects and in In 1444 AH, its name was changed to the Coordinating Council for Companies Providers of Service to Pilgrims Abroad. It supervises the coordination of the work of 27 entities, and works to unify joint efforts between the various entities in the Hajj system by providing all the capabilities that would support companies and improve the system as a whole, through the core values set by the Council, which are “sustainable growth – compliance – excellence – cooperation.” The objectives of the Council are summarized as follows:

1 – Representative of companies providing service to pilgrims abroad.

• Representing the common interests between companies providing services to pilgrims abroad, and representing them before the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and other parties.

• Working with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and companies providing services to pilgrims abroad to raise the efficiency of employees providing services to pilgrims abroad.

2 – Coordinator between companies providing services to pilgrims abroad.

• Working to create an integrated work environment free of conflicts between the parties providing the service.

• Sustainability in providing shared services.

• Achieving interconnection and integration between companies providing services to pilgrims abroad and between them

and other entities related to serving the pilgrims in the

public and private sectors.

• Coordination between companies providing services to pilgrims abroad and between them and other parties related to serving the pilgrims in the public and private sectors.

3 – Supporting companies providing services to pilgrims abroad.

• Contributing to improving the level of services provided to pilgrims abroad and ensuring their quality and development.

• Highlighting the role played by companies providing services to pilgrims abroad in serving the guests of God.

• Studies and research to develop operations for service providers for pilgrims abroad and for joint services.

• Supporting companies providing services to pilgrims abroad by providing joint services and emergency support services.

• Qualifying individuals working in the system to ensure their eligibility and provide the highest levels of quality to pilgrims.

To achieve these goals, the Council was assigned many tasks and roles, and a number of specialized committees emerged from it in the various services provided to pilgrims. The Council also provides a number of initiatives, projects and services that aim to improve the quality of service and the hospitality industry and enrich the experience in accordance with the aspirations of the wise leadership.

Name of Hospitality Companies Pilgrims… What are the expected repercussions of this change on the historical and professional identity of the sector?

With regard to historical identity, as it is known that the developmental changes that occur in any profession or sector do not erase history. The history of the professions of leaders of sects is monitored and preserved, and the state, may God protect it, has been keen to document and monitor what is related to it through a number of official scientific bodies interested in this, including, for example, the King Salman Chair for Studies on the History of Mecca at Umm Al-Qura University, which He organized a symposium called “Watering through the Ages” and another symposium in cooperation with the Coordinating Council of Tawaif Leaders’ Companies and Service Providers for Foreign Pilgrims (under its previous name) entitled “The Tawaf and the Tawafists,” in which a number of those interested in the history of the profession participated, and the participating research was printed in three volumes.

The King Abdulaziz Foundation also made an effort in this through the Encyclopedia of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques, and the Coordinating Body of Tawaifs and Tawaif Institutions issued the book “From the Memory of the Profession.” It records the experiences of a number of leaders of the sects who were honored to serve the guests of God, Your Excellencies and Excellencies, and other books and research that contributed to monitoring and documenting the history of these professions.

As for the expected professional repercussions of changing the titles, they began to appear since the issuance of the system of service providers for pilgrims abroad, which was issued by Royal Decree No. M/111 dated 09/17/1440 AH, which aimed to:

1. Raising the efficiency of workers in the field of serving the guests of God.

2. Restructuring of sectarian companies; To transform from individual institutions to companies, through their capitalization and governance, and the classification of the services they provide in quality and quantity.

3. Work to expand the base of participation in these companies, and attract talent from citizens who want to work; In order to provide the best services to pilgrims.

4. Working to develop the services provided to pilgrims, enabling them to perform The obligation of Hajj, visiting the holy sites, and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque, with all ease and ease.

These goals were in line with the initiatives that were launched from the Program for Serving the Guests of God, one of the programs of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which carried many initiatives related to the Hajj and Umrah sector. This amendment to some articles of the system comes to demonstrate the wise leadership’s constant and continuous keenness to provide the finest services to the Guests of God.

Expanding the base of participation in hospitality companies and attracting Saudi talent represents an important axis in the amendments. How can this be achieved practically without harming the continuity of existing companies?

On the contrary, the process of attracting talent is an essential factor in the continuity and continuity of work in any facility and sector that is keen on this. The company and facility that is keen on implementing the strategy of attracting distinguished talent is able to develop the path of those talent without interruption to achieve its strategic and organizational goals that I planned it, and expanding the base of participation in the work made the primary axis the efficiency achieved by those seeking work, and this gave the sector access to more expertise that enriched the system and created a spirit of competitiveness among service providers to implement a number of initiatives and provide a number of services that reflect the keenness of these companies to perpetuate and continue to perform their tasks and provide their services.

Amending Article Six and restricting the ownership and management of pilgrim hospitality companies to Saudis, in addition to preventing the establishment of new companies. What impact will this have on the future of investment in Sector?

For your information, these two articles are present in the system that was previously issued on 09/17/1440 AH, but the amendment is related to amending the name of the companies to hospitality companies for pilgrims, and the regulations that were previously in effect before the issuance of the system for service providers for pilgrims abroad were specific to tasks and responsibilities and did not allow investment or stock trading, etc. The system came to transform institutions into joint-stock companies and have the right to establish companies, and the companies system applies to them in what was not mentioned in this regard. A text in this system, and this gives scope for entering into investments and diversifying sources of income, especially those related to pilgrims’ services, and preventing the establishment of new companies to host pilgrims. What is meant is the companies that were defined after the amendment in Article One of the system. Otherwise, the Ministry has the right to license service-providing companies in accordance with the wording of Article Seven of the system, which was not amended, which stipulates:

“Persons of a natural or legal capacity may obtain a license to practice the activity of providing service to pilgrims after three years have passed from the date of entry into force of the system.” The system, in accordance with its provisions and other regulations regulating that.” Over the past years, the Ministry has licensed a number of companies until the total number of companies licensed to provide services to pilgrims abroad reached 27 companies. Also, restricting the ownership and management of these companies to Saudis supports nationalization and provides thousands of jobs for Saudis in the hospitality, transportation, catering, administration, and field support sectors, and enhances national identity and local control in a strategic sector that serves Millions of pilgrims annually. It also helps build national competencies specialized in crowd management and seasonal hospitality, expertise that does not exist anywhere else in the world.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will implement the qualitative and quantitative classification and pricing mechanisms stipulated in Articles Five and Nine.. What is the role of companies in formulating these mechanisms?

Since the issuance of the system for service providers for foreign pilgrims, the Ministry has issued a qualitative and quantitative classification of the services that are provided. Contracted between service providing companies, Hajj affairs offices, and Representatives of pilgrims, and the classification is reviewed annually, and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah gratefully allows the Coordination Council to participate in this review as a representative of the companies providing service to pilgrims abroad. This annual review aims to develop the service and improve the method of providing it in a way that does not conflict with competition among service providers.

With the amendments to the articles related to sanctions and their tightening, how are companies preparing to strengthen their governance and compliance systems to avoid falling under the penalty of new sanctions?

It was previously mentioned in a previous answer that the amendment in some articles is related to the title, and it is also in the articles related to penalties, as they have been in place since the issuance of the system on 09/17/1440 AH. Since then, companies have strengthened their governance systems and issued a bylaw for each company, and companies hold their general assemblies under the supervision of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Ministry of Commerce.

Adding a new article that allows the formation of a coordination council for service providers for pilgrims abroad. How does the Arbab companies sector see it? Sects? Will it constitute an effective platform for unifying efforts or a new organizational layer?

Joint work in which a number of sectors come together is in dire need of coordination to unify joint efforts and work in the spirit of one team. This is observed in the sector of serving the pilgrims. At the level of government agencies and at the highest levels, we find that the state has formed the Supreme Hajj Committee, which includes all sectors working in Hajj, headed by His Highness the Minister of the Interior, as well as the Permanent Committee for Hajj and Umrah, headed by His Highness the Emir of the region.

Also, other parties need to coordinate their work. In order to integrate the work system and improve the service provided to the guests of God, and as it is no secret that the role played by the Coordination Council in its current organization is an important and prominent role, and the issuance of a new article in the system that allows the establishment of one or more coordination councils for service providers for pilgrims abroad and to define its responsibilities and tasks and other necessary provisions that may be discussed after the issuance of the executive regulations related to this article from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

The obligation to establish specialized companies to provide the service based on the amendments. How can it open the way for innovation? And the development of quality services that suit the needs of pilgrims?

Those who consider the main objectives of the system that we mentioned above will find that they aim to improve the provision of distinguished services to the Guests of God in a way that suits their needs so that the honorable pilgrim can enjoy a unique journey of faith and a distinctive religious experience. One of the most important things that supports this is innovation in providing services.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has been grateful to encourage innovation on an ongoing basis, and this is evident in its holding of innovation challenge activities in the system of serving the Guests of God, which It is held annually at the Hajj Conference and Exhibition, which is held under the generous patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may God protect him. The Coordination Council participated in sponsoring this challenge during the fourth edition of the conference and exhibition, which was held in January 2025.