The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, has requested that the quota of Ghanaians who perform the yearly Hajj be increased.

He said this will enable as many as 20 per cent of Ghanaian Muslims to perform the all-important religious obligation.

Mr Bagbin said this when the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Ghana, Meshal Hamdan Al-Rogi, called on him in Parliament last Wednesday.

There has been a lot of concern in the Muslim community on a cap on the number of people who get visas to embark on the Hajj pilgrimage.

Some of the would-be pilgrims worry that they do not get to visit the holy land of Saudi Arabia because they get disappointed and some times exploited because more people are applying for a limited number of visas.

In 2019, the last Hajj pilgrimage, a total of 6,000 pilgrims were successfully flown from Ghana to Saudi Arabia to perform the rituals.

According to some sources, more than 10,000 people applied.

The Speaker said the Ambassador must increased the numbers since more Ghanaian Muslims want to perform the pilgrimage.

Other discussions were on strengthening economic and social ties between their two countries.

Also on the front burner was the need to resuscitate the Ghana-Saudi Parliamentary Friendship Association to effectuate person to person relations between the two countries.