KOTA BARU – The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry will hold talks on Covid-19 vaccine recognition for haj pilgrims with the Saudi Arabia government.
Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Ahmad Marzuk Shaary said all coronavirus vaccines obtained by the federal government are recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It is our hope that Saudi Arabia will accept all pilgrims who have been vaccinated with WHO-recognised vaccines, he added.
“On discrepancies in vaccine recognition, the matter will be discussed by the ministry with the Saudi Arabia government.”
Prior to this, it was reported that the Saudi Arabia government will accept only pilgrims who received either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the haj pilgrimage.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had recently said there should be a consensus among countries in determining the immigration policy on vaccine recognition, as some countries only allow the entry of certain vaccine recipients.
He said this is to avoid confusion over the issue of vaccine recognition like in Saudi Arabia, the European Union, United Kingdom and United States. – Bernama, July 11, 2021
