The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has donated 55 tons of dates to the government of Maldives.

The Saudi government donated 50 tons of dates to the Maldivian government, and the remaining five tons were donated by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance.

The signing ceremony to handover the dates took place at the Saudi Embassy in Maldives, with the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the Maldives, Matrek Abdullah Al-Ajalin Aldosari signing on behalf of Saudi Arabia and Minister of Islamic Affairs of Maldives Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed signing on behalf of the island nation.

The five tons of dates gifted by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance were handed over at a ceremony held at the Islamic ministry.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been donating date packs to the Maldivian government, during the fasting month of Ramadan each year.

In 2023, the kingdom gifted 25,000 packs of dates to the Maldivian government. In the process of distributing the date packs to households, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs prioritized the most vulnerable households after thorough analysis.

As such, priority was given to the households registered as vulnerable households in the Islamic Ministry’s registry publicized in 1443. One pack of dates was handed over to these families, before the ministry distributed the remaining date packs to the households that arrived to collect date packs, in order.

The Islamic ministry has not disclosed the details of the procedure to be followed this year, for the distribution of the Saudi-gifted dates.

In 2022, the ministry announced a financial assistance programme named “Zakat Nafaa” in collaboration with the then-Ministry of Economic Development.

Through the programme, authorities have been assisting the vulnerable households and those who have been registered as vulnerable families and individuals in the ministry’s registry, to meet their basic needs.

The five-year programme is being carried out under a set of policies and will also see expenses from the Zakat fund for allocated individuals, in a bid to create a more fulfilled community.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia donated 25 tonnes of dates to the Maldivian government, in 2022 as well as the year before.