Saudi’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz has ordered that authorities in his country host 1,000 relatives of Egyptian police and military martyrs in this year’s annual hajj, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

According to the agency, the order came under the country’s Hajj Guests programme, which is supervised by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance.

The Islamic Affairs Minister, Sheikh Dr. Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh, said that this year's guests are coming from Asia, Africa and Europe.

Last year, King Salman ordered that his country host 1,000 families of Egyptian security forces killed on duty.

The hajj falls this year from 19 to 24 August.

Nearly 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims are expected to perform the Islamic pilgrimage this year.