Maldivian government websites restored after hours of inaccessibility: ‘Technical issues’

After experiencing several hours of inaccessibility, the primary websites of the Maldivian government were reinstated on Sunday, January 7. The website of the President of Maldives was unreachable on January 6 night.

The official websites of the President, Foreign Ministry, and Tourism Ministry of Maldives were down and unreachable.

The reasons behind top government websites' not working are yet to be ascertained. There is no official word from the government so far.

Moreover, the Maldivian Tourism Ministry's website is also unreachable at the moment. Subsequent to the temporary unavailability, the key Maldivian government websites are now operational again.

Attributing the disruption to "technical issues," the Maldives President's office posted on X, acknowledging the unforeseen interruption to the official websites.

Furthermore, it mentioned that the National Centre for Information Technology and other relevant entities are actively working to resolve the issue.

"Please note that the President's Office website is currently facing an unexpected technical disruption. NCIT and other relevant entities are actively working on resolving this promptly. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Thank you for your understanding and patience," stated the post.

Meanwhile, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, is set to visit China from Jan. 8 to 12, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on January 5, in what would be a high-profile snub to the island nation's huge neighbour India.

Muizzu, who in November took over as president of the Indian Ocean nation made up of more than a hundred islands dotted with luxury resorts, issued an election pledge to remove a small contingent of some 75 Indian military personnel in the country and alter the Maldives's "India first" policy.

Asked to comment on talk of President Muizzu making a state visit to China, New Delhi said the matter was out of its hands.

"It is for them to decide where they go and how they go about their international relations," Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that he had no update on the removal of Indian military personnel from the islands.

The Maldives owes China about $1.3 billion, according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) data. China is the Maldives' largest external creditor, accounting for about 20% of its total public debt.

(With inputs from ANI)