Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz (may Allah safeguard him), the UQU Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research will organize the 19th Conference for Hajj and Umrah Research in collaboration and partnership with Taibah University from 29-30 Jumada Al-Thani, 1440 A.H., corresponding to 6-7 March, 2019 A.C.

On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Emir of Madinah, HRH Prince Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, will sponsor the opening ceremony of the conference on Wednesday. The researchers and the participating government and public bodies will review the latest specialized scientific research in the field of Hajj and Umrah.

The dean of the institute, Dr. Sami bin Yasin Brahmin, said the meeting is held every year alternately in Makkah and Madinah. It highlights the Kingdom's efforts to serve the pilgrims based on the cumulative experience of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research and other relevant authorities involved in the Hajj and Umrah system.

Dr. Brahmin indicated that the most important expected outcomes of the conference include reviewing the submitted papers, forwarding the recommendations to be adopted by the parties involved in the service of pilgrims, including the ministries and service providers, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 to support the pilgrims, increasing the accommodation capacity and activating the private sector's role in this regard.

The Vice Dean of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research, Dr. Mazin Al-Shamarni, explained that the conference will be divided into six sessions that discuss different scientific, administrative, engineering, environmental, health, technical, and information topics, in addition to a number of scientific posters and presentations. He confirmed that the most important feature of the conference is the submission of 220 scientific abstracts, which is the largest number ever received.

Dr. Al-Shamarni, who is also a member of the conference's scientific committee, said the conference has accepted 50 scientific papers and 40 work papers to be reviewed during the conference sessions. The first and second sessions will be dedicated to the humanities, media, environmental and health studies. The third and fourth sessions will be dedicated to initiatives that serve pilgrims, while the fifth session will discuss urbanization and engineering. The last scientific session will be dedicated to technologies and applications.