President arrives in L. Gan to kick off the third “Viavathi Raajje” conference

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has arrived in Gan Island in Laamu Atoll to hold the third "Viavathi Raajje" conference.

President Solih arrives in Gan island on Saturday afternoon.

The third conference of “Viavathi Raajje” will include city council mayors, island council presidents and presidents of Women’s Development Committees (WDC) from the southern atolls of Maldives: Dhaalu, Thaa, Laamu, Gaafu Alif, Gaafu Dhaal Atolls, Fuvahmulah City and Addu City.

The President is joined at the conference by government ministers, Parliament members of the southern atolls, policy executives from the President’s Office, and technical experts from various institutions including state-owned enterprises.

The Spokesperson at the President’s Office, Miuvaan Mohamed has previously disclosed that over 270 individuals will be participating in this conference, along with 107 council members and WDC representatives.

The conference would be held from September 10-12, 2022. As such, the two-day conference will feature four sessions with presentations and discussions on a variety of topics. These include gender equality, the formulation of land-use plans, fiscal autonomy of local councils and social welfare.

President's Office highlights that these sessions will allow the council and WDC members from the southern atolls to directly present their concerns to the President and collaborate on solutions with relevant parties.

"Viavathi Raajje" is a conference series hosted by the President in order to strengthen the decentralization system in light of the previous year’s experience of collaborating with relevant stakeholders.

President Solih signed the eighth amendment to the Decentralization Act into law on December 15, 2019, at the first edition of the "Viavathi Raajje" conference, authorising more fiscal and legal autonomy for local councils.

A sports festival was held on Saturday evening in L. Gan, prior to the conference as a team-building exercise to foster cooperation among attendees.