CANBERRA: The Saudi Ambassador to Australia Musaed bin Ibrahim Al-Saleem bid farewell to pilgrims as they left the capital Canberra on their journey to perform Hajj. Al-Saleem said that the consular affairs department had issued 4,500 visas to Australian Muslims wishing to take part in this year’s holy pilgrimage. A separate farewell ceremony was held by the Saudi Embassy in Thailand’s capital Bangkok for Thai pilgrims of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Guests Program for Hajj and Umrah. The guests thanked King Salman for serving Islam and Muslims through the care and expansion of the Two Holy Mosques. Meanwhile, the Saudi director general of passports, Maj. Gen. Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Yahya, inspected the progress of work to further improve services for pilgrims passing through the Kingdom’s airports.