Minister of Media Salman bin Yousef Al-Dosari has paid an inspection visit to the press operation room of this year"s Hajj season 2023, which is overseen by the ministry with the participation of 50 government agencies that work 24/7 to facilitate the work of reporters covering the annual pilgrimage. Al-Dosari was briefed on the services and work mechanisms of the room. He has also checked on the work progress at the Virtual Press Center (VPC), which provides media services, including videos and images, to more than 1100 local and international reporters covering this year’s Hajj. Since its launch, the VPC has made more than 1500 press materials available to journalists and will also be airing Hajj press conferences in five languages for three days starting Monday. The minister has also paid a visit to the press operation room of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), through which supervision and coordination are maintained with field reporters at the holy sites. The room is one of four other media centers established by SPA at the holy sites of Mina, Arafat, and Al-Awali that also support international news agencies. Al-Dosari was briefed on SPA efforts. He also met with the media liaison officers of several government agencies participating in covering the Hajj season, with whom he discussed ways to enhance cooperation and joint press work. The minister also paid a visit to the headquarters of the General Commission For Audiovisual Media, where he was briefed on the services and facilities it provides to local and international reporters covering the Hajj rituals. He also checked on the work at the headquarters of the Ministry of Media at Arafat and the technologies it uses in covering the annual pilgrimage. He then paid a visit to the studios of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority at the Jamaraat Bridge and was briefed on the technologies used in the coverage of the Hajj rituals. He also visited the media center of SPA at Arafat which is equipped with all necessary preparations to facilitate the work of journalists and international media partners at the site. Al-Dosari then visited the ministry’s headquarters at the Mina site and checked on its preparedness and services. He also toured the media center allocated for international journalists inside the headquarters of the ministry, where he met with several journalists covering the pilgrimage. Al-Dosari thanked all the employees of the ministry and affiliated authorities who participate in covering the Hajj season, stressing the importance of exerting more efforts to highlight the Kingdom"s efforts and the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince to serve pilgrims and facilitate the Hajj journey. — SPA