For the first time in history, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has sponsored Muslim members of Sri Lanka’s triforces to perform the upcoming Haj 1445-2024 pilgrimage, which is set to begin on Friday, June 14.
This comes after a request made by the State Minister of Defence, Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, and with the intervention of the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Khalid Hamoud Nasser Aldasam Alkahtani.
In this regard, five Muslim tri-servicemen have been given special quotas this year.
During a meeting with Alkahtani in Columbia on Friday, June 7, Tennakoon expressed gratitude to Saudi ambassador and specially the Saudi government for providing the once in a lifetime opportunity to Muslim members of the tri forces.
Thanking Tennakoon for making this request, the Saudi Arabian ambassador said that he would give his personal attention to increasing the quota for defense personnel in the coming years.
In addition to this, he announced that Sri Lankan Muslim security forces will soon have the opportunity to participate in the ‘Umrah’ pilgrimage.
