MAKKAH: The UAE ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday held talks with the Saudi minister of Hajj and Umrah in the holy city of Makkah. During their meeting, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Nahyan Al-Nahyan and Dr. Mohammed Salih Bentin reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them. They also discussed issues related to services being provided to pilgrims from the UAE over this year’s Hajj season. Al-Nahyan thanked the Kingdom, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for its “great” efforts to ensure pilgrims from all over the world could “perform their rituals easily and safely.” The envoy’s visit coincided with the launch by Saudi authorities of a number of initiatives and enhanced services designed to improve and enrich the experiences of those making the holy pilgrimage. Bentin and his deputy minister, Abdul Fattah Mashat, revealed eight new projects which included a smart Hajj platform, a service-supervision initiative to improve housing by adding additional living space and organizing bus trips, and a pilgrims’ grouping e-program to manage and monitor crowds. Also announced was a site in Mina which had been cleared to house fully equipped tents, and an initiative to improve food services and expand the provision of ready meals at holy sites. In addition, a “Be an Assistant” scheme aims to encourage volunteers to help pilgrims, and an electronic system has been developed to measure the readiness of holy sites to welcome and serve visitors.