Saudi Arabia on Tuesday gifted 17,500 textbooks to the Maldives to teach Arabic language in schools across the archipelago.
The Deputy Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the Maldives, Muthrik Abdullah Al-Dhausry presented the books to Minister of Education Dr Aishath Shiham in a special ceremony held at the Education Ministry.
According to the ministry, the books will be used to teach Arabic language from Grades 1 to 5 in schools, with 3,500 books for each grade.
The ministry added that the books will be handed over to schools as soon as their details have been recorded at the ministry.
A close ally of the Maldives, Saudi Arabia has continuously aided the Maldives in various ways. The kingdom recently sent 17 teachers to teach Arabic language and plans to establish an Arabic language centre in the island nation. They also donated 100,000 Arabic books to the Maldives last year.