Higher Education Minister of Kerala state, India, K.T Jaleel is set to undertake an official visit to Maldives in order to strengthen higher education links between both countries.

The minister’s visit has been scheduled at a time Kerala is in “poor fiscal conditions”, in turn drawing criticism from the country’s opposition for ministers’ official trips to other countries, being funded by the Kerala government.

Kerala news outlets report that Minister Jaleel’s two-day trip will see a meeting between the Kerala Minister and Maldives Higher Education Minister Ibrahim Hassan and other senior government officials.

The delegation includes Higher Education principal secretary Usha Titus, APJ Abdul Kalam University pro-vice-chancellor S Ayoob, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) director Ramesh Unnikrishnan and Community Skill Park’s head T V Vinod, reported Kerala news outlets.

The Higher Education Ministry of Maldives revealed that further details regarding the trip will be shared at a later date.