The government delegation from Saudi Arabia has discussed opening the King Salman Mosque in Male' City for next year's month of Ramadan.
The delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived in the Maldives for discussions on opening the King Salman Mosque in April 2022. The delegation is headed by the Under-Secretary of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Islamic Affairs Awwad Sabthi.
Deputy Minister of the Maldivian Ministry of Islamic Affairs Shafiu Ali said discussions were held on the work to be conducted before the opening of the mosque, particularly the resources that are required for the mosque. He said the delegation as saying the Saudi government is working on providing the necessary resources and assistance needed to open the mosque.
The King Salman Mosque was previously scheduled to be opened to the public ahead of Ramadan this year. However, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs later revealed the mosque could not be opened at the scheduled date due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused difficulties for the Saudi delegation to arrive in the Maldives on schedule.
The King Salman Mosque is a donation for the Maldives by King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud. The mosque was designed and constructed by Turkish contractor Alke-Turmaks.
The mosque is designed to accommodate 4,000 worshippers at once and showcases Islamic culture and heritage.