Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched the “Mecca Road” initiative in the Republic of Turkey in the initiative lounge at Istanbul International Airport, in the presence of His Excellency the Turkish President of Religious Affairs, Professor Dr. Ali Erbaş, His Excellency the Deputy President of Turkish Religious Affairs, Selim Arqun, and His Excellency the Chairman of the Initiative’s Supervisory Committee, Director General of Passports, Lieutenant General Suleiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Yahya, members of the committee, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Ankara, Muhammad bin Youssef Al-Harbi, the Consul General Abdul Majeed bin Hamad Al-Dosari, and a number of officials from the two brotherly countries.
The Mecca Road Initiative aims to receive the guests of God and complete their procedures from their countries with ease, starting with issuing the visa electronically and taking biometrics, through to completing passport procedures in the initiative hall at the airport of the country of departure after verifying the availability of health requirements, in addition to coding and sorting the luggage according to the arrangements. Transportation and housing in the Kingdom. Upon their arrival, they move directly to buses to take them to their residences in Mecca and Medina, using designated routes, while the service agencies deliver their luggage to their residences.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Interior is implementing the initiative in seven countries this year 1444 AH, which are: Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Morocco, Bangladesh, Turkey and Côte d’Ivoire, with the participation of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health, Hajj and Umrah, the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). , the Guests of God Service Program, and the General Directorate of Passports.