King Salman returns to Saudi Arabia after skipping trip to Maldives

King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud has returned to Saudi Arabia, hours after cancelling his trip to the Maldives.

On Friday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Asim had revealed that the Saudi King’s scheduled visit to the Maldives has been postponed, “due to the high prevalence of the flu in the country".

READ MORE: King Salman cancels scheduled trip to Maldives "due to flu outbreak"

Saudi Arabia’s King was on a month-long tour of Asia starting from February 27. The tour took him to Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China. Maldives was to be the fifth country in the tour.

The Maldivian government had been making various preparations for the royal visit, with the police even issuing a warning against "doing anything that could violate the honour of a visiting foreign dignitary."

READ MORE: Do not do anything that could violate the honour of visiting dignitaries, warns MPS

He was to arrive in the Maldives on Saturday.

Three resorts had been booked for the trip, and the King was to stay in the Maldives for five days., along with 10 ministers, 1500 officials, King’s personal carrier, five additional planes and two helicopters. King Salman's yacht and helicopters have been brought to the Maldives as well, and a Saudi navy ship anchored near Malé on March 10.

Less than 24 hours before the cancellation, Parliamentary Group leader of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik, in a leaked audio clip, revealed new details of the Faafu deal with Saudi Arabia, as well as criticized the Saudi government and royal family.