Egypt’s PM cancels Hajj at the expense of the state for year 2023

CAIRO – 21 December 2022: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered cancelling Islamic pilgrimage, aka Hajj, at the expense of the state during the 2023 Hajj season in a meeting with ministers on Tuesday.

During the meeting, he also ordered keeping Hajj service individuals to a minimum.

Attending the meeting, Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) affirmed the need to abide by last year’s decision of cancelling Hajj at the state’s expense

Madbouly also urged continuing coordination with Saudi relevant authorities to ensure the provision of the required services to the Egyptian pilgrims.

In the last Islamic year, Saudi Arabia allocated the quota of pilgrims for each country, with a decrease of 45.2 percent of the pre-COVID-19 quota. Egypt’s quota was estimated at 35,357 pilgrims during the 2022 Hajj season.

Hajj at the expense of the state has been costing the state large sums of money over the past year. However, global challenges and pressure applied to the Egyptian economy due to geopolitical developments have forced the state to focus on priorities.

Egypt currently works on ensuring the presence of enough foreign currency reserves to meet the citizens’ needs and release imported goods stored at ports.

Earlier in December, Madbouly said Egypt will carry out an urgent plan in coordination with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to secure the country’s needs of foreign currency and ensure flexible economy amid the ongoing global crisis.

The plan, which Madbouly has not revealed much of its details, will run on the short term until the end of the current fiscal year next June.