Male: The top websites of the Maldives government were restored after being inaccessible for several hours on Sunday. The Maldivian President's office, Foreign Ministry, and Tourism Ministry websites were down from Saturday night leaving the cyber side of the country's governance completely paralysed. The country's president's office took to Twitter to inform about the site being down due to some “technical issues”. The authorities went on to issue an apology on the matter and made it clear that the NCIT and other related entities will continue working promptly on the matter. 

“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,” The President's office wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. 

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Thank you for your understanding and patience,” the office furthered. 

At an interesting time 

The Maldives websites were down at a time when the country's new president Mohamed Muizzu was scheduled to visit China. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the island nation's president will visit China from January 8 to 12. Muizzu is known for his strong inclination towards China which is a matter of concern for India. Meanwhile, the ties between Maldives and India soured after the island nations asked New Delhi to withdraw its military presence from the region. Meanwhile, commenting on Muizzu's visit to China, New Delhi stated that 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.

(With Inputs from agencies)