Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed signs a document calling on all countries to cut down their carbon dioxide emissions, in Girifushi, Maldives, 17 Oct 2009In an effort to highlight climate change, the Cabinet of the governmentof the Maldives, an Indian island nation, has held a meeting underwater.

Meetings of government ministers cansometimes be a dry affair. That certainly was not the case during thelatest gathering of the Cabinet of the Maldives.

PresidentMohamed Nasheed and 11 of his government ministers, plus the vicepresident and Cabinet secretary, donned scuba gear and plunged sixmeters below the shimmering turquoise surface of an Indian Oceanlagoon.

The Cabinet seated behind tables, amid a coral backdrop, used hand gestures to communicate.

The president is a certified diver but other Cabinet members had to takelessons in recent weeks to prepare for the unprecedented meeting.

Oneresolution was approved - a declaration calling for concerted globalaction on climate change ahead of a major United Nations conference onthe subject scheduled for December in Copenhagen.

The ministers used waterproof markers to sign the document, printed on a white board.

President Nasheed, surfacing to speak with reporters, said he hopes his unusual Cabinet meeting will prompt global action.

"Wewant to see that everyone else is also occupied as much as we are and would like to see that people actually do somethingabout it," he said. "If Maldives cannot be saved today we do not feelthat there is not much of a chance for the rest of the world."

The Maldives
TheMaldives consists of nearly 1,200 coral islands. The land surface pokesjust a couple of meters on average above sea level, making it thelowest-lying nation in the world.

It is feared that rising sea levels could submerge the country this century.

PresidentNasheed has previously announced plans to buy a new homeland for hiscountry's 350,000 citizens if the Maldives does eventually disappearbelow the waves.