President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday pledged to increase Budget Allocation to Women’s Development Committee’s (WDCs) and provide additional support to spur greater role of WDCs in the development of society.

The President made this statement while speaking at the final session of the "Viavathi Raajje" conference.

President Solih acknowledged the challenges facing WDCs, including financial restrictions, and reiterated the importance of empowering them to lead community development efforts. He announced consultations with his cabinet and other stakeholders to review the budget allocated for the committees.

In his closing remarks, President Solih also highlighted the topics discussed at the conference.

As such, the President encouraged council members to follow the direction of the Ministry of National Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure in formulating land-use plans. He noted the administration’s intent to ease and expedite approval of the plans, which he said would pave the way to facilitate developmental projects.

Additionally, the President urged the support of local councils for the special task force combating drug offences and the Maldives Police Service and highlighted the role local councils could play in crime prevention.

The two-day conference featured four sessions with presentations and discussions on various topics, including fiscal and legal autonomy; formulating land-use plans; the role of WDCs; crime prevention; social welfare; and climate resilience being the main topics of discussion.