Somalia has secured 11,500 places for its citizens to perform the 2027 Hajj pilgrimage after signing a new annual agreement with Saudi Arabia, setting the number of Somali Muslims expected to travel to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina next year.
The agreement was signed in Jeddah by Somalia’s Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali, and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, according to Somali National Television (SNTV) on Wednesday.
The allocation means Somalia will retain the same number of pilgrimage places it received for the previous Hajj season, when 11,500 citizens were also allowed to make the journey in 2026.
The annual agreement determines how many pilgrims each country can send to Saudi Arabia, with the arrangements forming part of the kingdom’s preparations to manage the large numbers of Muslims travelling for the religious exercise.
Somalia’s Consul General in Jeddah, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Director General Abdinafi Ahmed Abdullahi and the head of the country’s Hajj services office, Khadar Dahir, attended the signing ceremony.
The deal followed a series of preparatory meetings between Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and representatives of Hajj affairs offices from 78 countries.
The discussions covered operational arrangements, administrative procedures and coordination of services required to receive and assist pilgrims during the 1448 AH Hajj season, which falls in 2027.
Somalia’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs said its delegation also held discussions with Saudi companies providing services to pilgrims, receiving briefings on arrangements for managing sacrificial animals.
The discussions included the system for slaughtering the animals and distributing the meat, an important part of the Hajj arrangements that requires coordination between service providers and the relevant authorities.
Saudi Arabia negotiates and signs annual Hajj quota agreements with Muslim-majority and other countries with Muslim populations to regulate the number of pilgrims entering the kingdom for the pilgrimage.