Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has said that The Maldives Hajj Corporation is working to bring down the cost of hajj and hopes to bring about a positive change in the next two years.

Speaking at the Minister's Aha Forum held at Sultan Park on Thursday night, Minister Dr. Shaheem said that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu wants to transform the experience of Maldivian pilgrims at Arafat and Mina during Hajj.

"There is the need to improve the pilgrimage in the future and bring down the prices, which is not possible in a day or two. The Hajj Corporation is going ahead with the process by formulating policies and economic considerations. Under the leadership of MD Mohamed Shakeel and under the guidance of the President, I hope that the system will see a positive change in the next two years," the minister said.

Dr. Shaheem said that he wanted to move forward according to the standards and procedures being followed by the Hajj Fund or The Hajj Institution of Malaysia and if that is done, a solution will will be found. The recent visit to Saudi Arabia was the first by an Islamic minister of the Maldives in the last 10 years.

"Ten years later, an Islamic Minister of the Maldives has gone to Saudi Arabia to find a way to serve the Maldivian people. The last time I went was in 2014. Since then, no Islamic minister of the Maldives has officially visited Saudi Arabia, which is very unfortunate. Saudi Arabia, Hajj and Umrah services are the most basic religious services to the people of the Maldives. There are still a lot of other things that need to be dealt with in any official matter. Saudi Arabia is the country that has funded the construction of most mosques in the Maldives," the minister said.

Minister Shaheem further said that the highest authority on Islamic affairs of the Maldives should always come to Saudi Arabia in order to find a better solution to the problems. President Dr. Muizzu himself had initiated the work of increasing the Haj quota for Maldivians.

President Dr. Muizzu's government has decided to hand over all hajj quotas to the Maldives to the Hajj Corporation. The Maldives receives 1,000 hajj quotas every year.