"Solidarity": 12,000 pilgrims selected for civil society organizations... programs start at 255,000 pounds

Cairo – Hanaa El-Sayed

The Ministry of Social Solidarity stated yesterday that the prices for the civil society organizations’ Hajj programs for the 1448 AH / 2027 CE season are 480,000 Egyptian pounds for the first tier, 300,000 pounds for the second tier, and 255,000 pounds for the third tier, inclusive of meals. The prices do not include airfare, which will be determined later.

This was announced during the attendance of Dr. Maya Morsi, Minister of Social Solidarity and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Facilitating Hajj, today, at the public electronic lottery to select 12,000 pilgrims from among 66,219 male and female citizens who applied to perform the Hajj under the civil society organizations’ system.

The lottery was attended by the Grand Mufti of the Republic, Nazir Ayyad; Amr El-Wardani, Chair of the Religious Affairs and Endowments Committee in the House of Representatives; members of the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Facilitating Hajj; representatives of the Administrative Affairs Sector of the Ministry of Interior; and a number of senior officials from the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

The Minister of Social Solidarity said that the Supreme Hajj Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, allocated 12,000 visas for members of civil society organizations out of the total Hajj visas designated for Egypt in the new season.

She added that the lottery was conducted electronically through the Unified Hajj Portal, supervised by the Ministry of Interior through its Administrative Affairs Sector, without any human intervention. Each governorate’s quota was determined based on the proportion of applications submitted from it.

She praised the expertise the National Foundation for Facilitating Hajj has built over many years of organizing Hajj for civil society organizations, emphasizing that the Foundation benefits from the experience of each season and continues to develop its performance and the services it provides to the guests of Allah.

She noted that this year marked the organization of the first Umrah trip under the umbrella of the National Foundation for Facilitating Hajj, a step that extends its accumulated experience in managing Hajj trips and serving the guests of Allah from the start of the journey until their safe return.

For his part, Ayman Abdel-Mooud, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Executive Director of the National Foundation for Facilitating Hajj, said that the Ministry organizes three tiers for the civil society organizations’ Hajj, in accordance with the standards set by the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Facilitating Hajj to meet citizens’ preferences.

He added that the first tier includes accommodation in five-star hotels in the Holy Mosque precinct in Mecca, at a cost of 480,000 pounds inclusive of meals. The second tier includes accommodation in classified hotels located approximately 750 meters from the Holy Mosque, at a cost of 300,000 pounds inclusive of meals. The third tier costs 255,000 pounds inclusive of meals, with accommodation in classified hotels located approximately 1,500 meters from the Holy Mosque.

He indicated that the total number of applicants for the civil society organizations’ Hajj in the new season reached 66,219 male and female citizens through 3,524 civil society organizations and institutions, with 55% being women and 45% men. Cairo Governorate topped the list of governorates in terms of the number of applicants.

He continued by stating that the pilgrims selected in the lottery must begin paying the cost of their tier starting tomorrow, Wednesday, September 16, until Thursday, September 24, through the National Bank of Egypt, the Egyptian Arab Bank, or the Bank of Cairo, or via Egyptian Post offices, to complete the required procedures.

He confirmed that if the procedures are not completed within the specified deadline, one of the substitute pilgrims selected in the lottery will be elevated.

He clarified that the Hajj trip will continue to provide religious guidance to pilgrims in coordination with Al-Azhar, the Ministry of Endowments, and the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta, in addition to preparing a guide for pilgrims that includes all the procedures a pilgrim goes through and answers various administrative and religious inquiries related to the trip.