His Royal Highness Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Emir of Makkah Province, witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research at Umm Al-Qura University and the Association of Catering Providers at the holy city. The signing was attended by the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Muhammad bin Salih Benten, His Excellency the President of Umm Al-Qura University, Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, and the undersecretary of Makkah Province, Dr. Hisham Al-Falih. The signing of the memorandum occurred on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Masha`ir I Exhibition, which was organized by the Tawafa Establishment for the Pilgrims of South Asia at its base camp headquarters in Mina.

The agreement between the two sides was signed by the Vice Dean of the institute, Dr. Turki bin Muhammad Habibullah, and the head of the Association of Catering Providers at the holy city, Ahmad Al-Sharif. The agreement aims at preparing scientific, practical, technical, consultancy, training and research studies in the field of catering and related issues. This is in addition to the preparation of the pilgrims' guides who manage the catering services that involve providing emergency meals.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research will implement the terms of the agreement through its specialized sections in the fields of environmental, health, information, scientific, administrative and humanitarian services, as well as the media, architectural and engineering aspects.