JEDDAH: Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the governor of Makkah and adviser to King Salman, met with the French senator, and member of the Gulf-French Friendship Committee, Nathalie Goulet in Jeddah on Sunday. They discussed potential cooperation on environmental conservation measures, particularly the “Hajj Without Plastic” initiative.Prince Khalid also addressed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to serve the holy places and pilgrims. He said the government has harnessed all available material and human resources to best serve the Two Holy Mosques and their visitors.Prince Khalid highlighted the importance of caring for the environment, particularly during the Hajj and Umrah seasons, and cited the implementation of “Hajj without Plastics” during the last pilgrimage season in many camps for pilgrims, as well as several other “green” projects that have been implemented in the holy places.The French senator thanked Prince Khalid and the organizers of the “Hajj without Plastics” initiative for the environmental programs that have been implemented, and stressed that the committee is prepared to cooperate in the development of such initiatives, particularly the technical aspects.Developing Hajj and Umrah organizations and services in the Kingdom is among the top priorities of the Saudi government. The number of Umrah visas issued this year has reached 7,650,736, of which 7,393,657 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom.
