The Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, has described the 2025 Hajj exercise as the best in the past 50 years, with pilgrims’ satisfaction reaching 91 per cent.

Al-Rabiah stated this at the formal opening of the fifth Hajj and Umrah Conference and Exhibition, which is ongoing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, asserting that the nature of the 2025 Hajj was exceptional at all levels.

“It (2025 Hajj) was the best Hajj in the past 50 years, with pilgrims’ satisfaction reaching 91 per cent,” the minister was quoted by the Saudi newspaper Saudi Gazette as saying at the conference.

According to him, the 2025 Hajj season was characterised by unified efforts and integrated services of all kinds provided to the pilgrims.

He said that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had begun preparations for the 2026 Hajj since the last day of the 2025 Hajj on 9 June (equivalent to Dhul Hijjah 13, 1446), adding that the ministry had been working systematically and with early readiness.

Al-Rabiah informed the gathering that basic contracts for over 60 per cent of pilgrims for the 2026 Hajj had already been finalised, adding that preparations for 50 per cent of the Masha’ir (holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah) had been completed.

“More than 70 per cent of residential and hotel buildings have also been prepared in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism,” the minister said.

Saudi Gazette reported that Al-Rabiah further disclosed to the gathering the development of 71 historical and cultural sites in both Makkah and Madinah, adding that over three million people had so far visited them.

Meanwhile, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Saudi-based service provider, Mashariq Azzahabiyya, for the provision of services to Nigerian pilgrims during the 2026 Hajj.

The signing, which took place in Makkah, saw NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, signing on behalf of the commission, while Mashariq Azzahabiyya Chairman, Muhammad Al-Ameen, signed for his company.

The signing of the agreement, which took place at the Exhibition Dome in Jeddah on the sidelines of the ongoing fifth Hajj and Umrah Conference and Exhibition, was witnessed by NAHCON’s Commissioner of Personnel, Prince Aliyu AbdulRazak; Commissioner of Personnel, Research, Statistics, Information and Library Services (PRSILS), Professor Abubakar Yagawal; Chairman of the State Pilgrims Welfare Boards Forum, Alhaji Idris Almakura; his deputy, Faruk Yaro, among others.

On Sunday, Nigeria formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, signalling the country’s participation in the 2026 Hajj exercise, to be held in the Kingdom in May next year.

NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, signed on behalf of Nigeria, while Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Hajj, Abdulfatah Mashat, signed for the Saudi government.

The signing event was witnessed by the representative of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Sule, and the Special Adviser to Mashat, Badr Al-Sulami. (Nigerian Tribune)