President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih will address the nation at the official reception to mark the of the 54th Republic Day of the Maldives.

The reception is scheduled to begin at the Republic Square, at 8:30pm on Wednesday.

Badges and shields honoring the long-serving public employees will be conferred by the president at the ceremony.

The National Award for Public Service mirrors the prestigious National Award of Honor and is presented to those who have served for the nation for over 35 years.

The ‘National Award for Public Service’ will recognize the different achievements of nominees and the quality of their work as well as contributions towards the development of their respective fields will be taken into consideration.

The newly-introduced award, similar to the “National Award of Honor”, also recognizes the individual achievements of nominees.

117 recipients will be awarded a badge and a commemorative shield this year.

The new award was introduced by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during a meeting with his Cabinet of Ministers on February 23, with the intention of recognizing and awarding those who have contributed significantly to the public sector.

National Awards 2021 will be presented in 33 categories similar to previous years and will be hosted during the official Republic Day function, where the president will confer the National Award for Public Service to their rightful recipients.

The government in September announced the decision to confer this year’s National Awards for Public Service on two separate occasions after deliberations with the National Awards Committee as the president did not find it reasonable for the awards to be conferred to so many people at the same time. With this the decision was reached to confer awards during the Republic Day and National Unity Day celebrations, separately.