RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MOHU) on Monday launched a new digital platform called "Nusuk.sa" to facilitate the arrival procedure for Umrah pilgrims from all over the world coming to Makkah and Madinah.

According to the ministry in a statement via its official Twitter yesterday, the platform is part of the Haj and Umrah service programme initiative developed by the country and one of the programmes in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.

The platform, which was launched in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian tourism authority, also aims to provide a better experience in terms of the country's culture to pilgrims as well as facilitating the booking process and helping them in terms of communication, the statement said.

Commenting further, the ministry said, the platform is in addition to other services that will be provided by the government of Saudi Arabia in the future, including interactive maps, special calendars for events and activities, digital guides for all instructions in several languages, as well as health and service information.

The digital platform "Maqam" will continue to operate at this time to enable foreign pilgrims to make Umrah reservations and obtain visas online until Nusuk.sa is fully activated.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Hajj and Umrah Minister Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al Rabiah said the Nusuk.sa platform is an extension of the Saudi Arabian government's ongoing efforts to improve the quality of its services to Umrah pilgrims from around the world.

He also expressed confidence that the platform provided for the pilgrims using the latest technology will simplify the procedure enable them to perform their pilgrimage easily and comfortably.

-- BERNAMA