The hajj visa application deadline has been extended till May 11 as the agencies are yet to apply for visas for more than 60,000 pilgrims, reports Daily Sun.

M Shahadat Hossain Taslim, President of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) confirmed the matter to on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan said that the visa application deadline for the Bangladeshi pilgrims this year will be extended.

"We are ready to welcome (application) and issue visas to all the pilgrims all over the world and especially here from Bangladesh," the ambassador told the journalists at an event at his embassy in Dhaka.

Terming the service to the pilgrims as their “noble duty”, the ambassador said, “So we spare no efforts to serve them (pilgrims).”

Ambassador Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan also said the process to issue immigration passes to Bangladeshi pilgrims will be completed in Dhaka under the Road to Makkah initiative.

“Already 40 officials from Saudi Arabia have reached Bangladesh and more will come shortly (for the task),” he added.

The Saudi ambassador also lauded the contribution of the Bangladeshi immigrant workers in Saudia Arabia.

“We are accommodating more than three million Bangladeshis there in Saudi Arabia. We acknowledge and appreciate their participation (contribution) in Saudia Arabia. They are active and hardworking,” said Ambassador Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan.

“We are looking forward to having more (Bangladeshi workers) in Saudia Arabia”, he added.

He said that the Saudi-Bangladeshi relationship is flourishing every day, expanding beyond the three main pillars of our relationship—Hajj and Umrah, aid, and manpower—to include investment, tourism, culture, and sports.

It's not just a government-to-government relationship; it's also a strong bond between the people of both nations, he also said.

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan