Foreign Ministry: Ambassador did not say that the Crown Prince will be inaugurating Salman Mosque

Foreign Ministry has denied the reports made by Saudi Arabian media outlets stating that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman al Saud will be making a visit to the Maldives to officially inaugurate the King Salman Mosque.

Some Saudi Arabian media outlets had reported this –  allegedly following an interview with the Ambassador of the Maldives to Saudi Arabia Mohamed Khaleel.

However, Foreign Ministry’s Director of Communication Miuvaan Mohamed had told Sun that Ambassador Khaleel has not given an interview to any Saudi Arabian media outlet.

“Mohamed Khaleel has not told any Saudi Arabian media outlet that the Crown Prince will be visiting Maldives to inaugurate King Salman Mosque,” he had said.

Nevertheless, Miuvaan did not state that the Crown Prince will not visit the Maldives for the inauguration of Salman Mosque.

The King Salman Mosque is the largest in the Maldives. Around 4,000 worshippers can be accommodated on the first and second floors of the mosque. The third floor is comprised of four classrooms and five seminar rooms. The fourth floor consists of a library an auditorium able to accommodate 350 people. The fifth floor is a multi-purpose hall, able to accommodate 300 people.

The mosque was built by the Turkish company, Turmaks.

A total of USD 25 million was spent on building the mosque. USD 14.5 million was provided by the Saudi government. The remaining amount was funded by the Maldivian government.

The mosque was initially supposed to be opened for last Ramadan - however, due to multiple reasons, it was delayed. The new target is to see the official inauguration of the mosque before next year's Ramadan.

A delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived in the Maldives on August 29 - for discussions regarding the mosque's opening.