Saudi Arabia has agreed to relax the mandatory provision for opening bank accounts for Hajj pilgrims this year, Religious Affairs Minister Matiur Rahman told a parliamentary watchdog.
But, from 2015, they must open the accounts in Saudi Arabian banks, the minister told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Religious Affairs Ministry.
Hajj pilgrims going under the government initiative were supposed to deposit money in banks there through the government to pay house rent and food while pilgrims going through private agencies were supposed to do it under private management.
“But following Bangladesh’s request, Saudi Arabia has relaxed the condition for Bangladeshis,” Bazlul Haque Harun, the standing committee chairman, told reporters after the meeting.
