Baghdad: Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, chaired a meeting on Thursday to follow up on the service plan for the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Karbala Governorate. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Electricity, the Governor of Karbala, and a number of officials from service departments and institutions.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of ensuring all necessary services for pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, as well as along the roads leading to both governorates. He stressed the need to address weather-related challenges and to provide a suitable environment for the pilgrims.

Al-Sudani noted that the government had begun implementing the current Arbaeen service plan immediately after the conclusion of last year’s pilgrimage and had launched a series of important service projects in Karbala aimed at strengthening infrastructure and improving service quality.

He also stressed the importance of designing projects in Karbala to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims each year and highlighted the need to promote religious tourism as a source of economic revenue by meeting all the needs of pilgrims. He underlined the urgent need for more road and bridge projects to absorb the heavy traffic congestion the city experiences during the pilgrimage period.