President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has urged the media to play an active role, in raising awareness on environmental issues.

In his message to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2022 on Tuesday, the President urged media houses across the nation to be more thorough and reliable when covering issues related to the environment.

He also urged media houses to create more awareness on such issues and shed light on the role the media could play in reducing single-use plastics and ocean litter.

Extending well wishes of the day to all journalists, proprietors of media outlets and individuals employed in different sectors of the media as well as their families on the occasion, the President highlighted that Maldives was ranked highest in the South Asian region for press freedom indexes.

With this being brought under the spotlight, the President reaffirmed his administration's commitment to press freedom and maintaining a conducive environment for information sharing.

President Solih went on to highlight the responsibilities of a journalist operating in a free media environment, adding that they could play a major role in raising public awareness on significant matters and on provoking religious and nationalistic pride.

Further, the President also acknowledged and praised the hard work of media houses to keep the public informed during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

With this being said, the President addressed how the media outlets worked together as one in a difficult time and expressed his confidence that the Maldivian media will come together and fulfill their duties to the public in times of crisis.