The Government of the Maldives held, at 2009 end, a cabinet meeting below the sea surface to symbolically attract the international attention to the global warming and raising of the sea-level, putting the majority of the islands comprising this Islamic republic at the risk of being swamped.

Mohamed Nasheed, the President of the Republic of Maldives, together with 13 ministers, held the meeting six metres below the sea-level. On this occasion, he signed a document calling for global cuts in the emission of carbon gases. This is one of the key issues discussed at the December UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Another issue discussed at the Conference has been further reduction of greenhouse gases.

The Maldivian cabinet members took diving lessons in preparation for this unusual activity, and President Nasheed was already an experienced certified scuba diver. In scuba-diving gear, in the capital Male bay, the ministers communicated by white boards and hand signals at tables placed at the bottom of the sea.

Nasheed started considering a new place to live for nearly 400 thousand Maldivians last November already, after the presidential elections. One of the solutions would be to allocate a portion of the billion dollar worth income from tourism to buy a new territory for the nation. Considered is land possessed by Sri Lanka and India, since these countries share similar culture, cuisine and climate with the Maldives.