The Hajj and Umrah Tourism Summit to be held in Istanbul next week is expected to feature the cooperation between Arab companies and Turkish investors.

International Hajj, Umrah and Tourism Services Summit will be held on July 12-13 in Istanbul. The summit will host 50 firms from Saudi Arabia, seven from Turkey, and two companies from Indonesia, Malaysia and Oman, respectively.

Summit Coordinator İlyas Say pointed to the importance of Hajj and Umrah tourism in a written statement, adding this year they expect 80,000 people to go to Saudi Arabia for hajj and over 100,000 for umrah.

Say said that three million tourists came to Turkey from Arab countries last year. "With the International Hajj, Umrah and Tourism Services Summit to be held for the first time this year, we will bring together Turkish firms and companies from Islamic countries, especially Saudi Arabia, in Istanbul," Say noted.

Furthermore, Say stated that sectoral problems would be addressed and solutions would be sought at the two-day summit, stressing that that they want to increase cooperation in this regard. Say also said companies in Saudi Arabia want to partner with the Turks, adding, "We would like the summit to lay the groundwork for these collaborations, the partnership agreements to be signed and the market to grow."