Jeddah, August 04, 2019, SPA -- King Abdulaziz International Airport here today received 413 Bangladeshi pilgrims, led by the Minister of State for Religious Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, who came to the Kingdom to perform Hajj this year 1440 H under Makkah Road Initiative. In an interview with SPA, the Minister said, "We and the Bangladeshi pilgrims, are very pleased with the arrangements we have found to serve the guests of the Holy Mosque within Makkah Road Initiative, one of the initiatives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who serve Islam and Muslims" He also added "This year, nearly half of Bangladesh pilgrims benefited from Makkah Road Initiative and we expect next year to include all Bangladesh, the initiative has made it easier and faster for travel procedures for pilgrims. Consul General of Bangladesh in Jeddah Borhan Uddin thanked the Kingdom and its leadership for including Bangladesh in Makkah Road Initiative and the services provided to the pilgrims. He pointed out the number of Bangladeshi pilgrims this year amounted to 127 thousand pilgrims and the number of beneficiaries from the initiative is 65 thousand. --SPA 00:01 LOCAL TIME 21:01 GMT 0038 www.spa.gov.sa/w1149800