Kuwait permits Iraqi pilgrims to cross its lands
Kuwait-Iraq, Politics, 1/21/2004

Member of the Iraqi Governing Council and chairman of the Iraqi pilgrims mission, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said that the Kuwaiti authorities permitted all Iraqi pilgrims who have been waiting since several days on the borders between the two states to enter its territories, on their way to Saudi Arabia.

Actually some 2000 pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia, while the others are waiting to get an entry visa to the kingdom and to book for the air flight from Kuwait to Jeddah.

The number of Iraqi pilgrims who will head to Mecca for this year is not known, but it did not increase during the past five years to 15,000, and some times did not exceed 5000, because of the bitter economic conditions and the trade siege.

Just recently, the Saudi authorities permitted to raise the share of Iraqi pilgrims annually to 25,000 representing an increase of 5000. This was following a meeting between al-Jaafari and the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and the minister of the interior Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz and the Foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

Saudi Arabia dedicates the share of each country of pilgrims on the ground of one pilgrim for each one thousand inhabitants, which means 25,000 for Iraq of a population of 25 million inhabitants.

Previous Stories:
  Kuwait installs iron barrier on its borders with Iraq   (1/14/2004)
  Kuwait identifies the remains of 61 of its prisoners in Iraq   (1/5/2004)
  UN Security Council confirms killing of Kuwaiti missing in Iraq   (12/20/2003)

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