Ministry of Islamic Affairs on Sunday made arrangements allowing Hajj pilgrims to buy US dollars from Bank of Maldives Plc. (BML) and Maldives Islamic Bank Pvt. Ltd. (MIB).
The Ministry said the information has been passed to all pilgrims through Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). According to the Ministry, both BML and MIB would sell each pilgrim US$500.
The Ministry licensed 5 private operators to organise Hajj tours this year with each receiving a quota of 200 pilgrims. Pilgrims who have booked their Hajj tours through Maldives Hajj Corporation (MHC) are scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia on August 15, 18, 21 and 22.
1,000 pilgrims would travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year under the care of MHC, while the Saudi Arabian Government granted a Hajj quota of 2,000 pilgrims to the Maldives this year.