Uzbekistan will ask Saudi Arabia to increase the country quota for small pilgrimage (Umrah) to 10 thousand people in 2018, the Committee for Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers said.
According to the representative of the committee, the Saudi Arabia will take the final decision on this issue next year.
"Uzbekistan requires the quota increase because more and more people wish to conduct pilgrimage, this is related to the rise in the standard of living of the population," the Committee on Religious Affairs noted.
The total quota for Uzbekistan in 2017 was increased by 20% to the previous year to 13.2 thousand people, the hajj quota increased by 1.4 times to 7200 pilgrims, and the Umrah quota remained unchanged at 6000.