President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has described Saudi Arabia as the leader of the Islamic world.
He made the remarks at the Republic Day ceremony on Sunday night ahead of his official visit to the country.
"Saudi Arabia is the leader of the Islamic world. We are proud of the country that is working at the forefront of the Islamic world. We fully participate in the work of the King of Saudi Arabia," Muizzu said.
The President's visit to Saudi Arabia is for a summit organized by the Saudi government, the Organization for Islamic Corporation (OIC) and the Arab League to find a solution to Israel's attacks on Palestine and Lebanon.
The President said he would be travelling on a special flight sent by the Saudi King.
This is the second time that President Muizzu has described a country or a leader as the leader of the Islamic world.
In March, he praised and described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the "leader of the Islamic world."
“I received the biggest support in this from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom the Islamic Ummah is proud of and whom we all see as the leading figure of the Islamic Ummah at the moment,” Muizzu said during the ceremony to introduce the drones purchased from Turkey.
"Less than two weeks after the people decided to hand over the responsibility to me, he [Erdogan] invited me to visit the country and welcomed me warmly. The reason this became a reality today is the attention he gave to this," he added.
