Vice President Faisal Naseem has concluded his tour of six islands of Raa Atoll.

The Vice President departed on his tour of Raa Atoll on Saturday morning.

The first stop of his tour was Inguraidhoo island in Raa Atoll. Upon arrival in the island at the start of the tour, VP Naseem met with the members of the Inguraidhoo island council, the WDC and the heads of island’s institutes at the Council Secretariat of the island.

At the meeting, members of the Council and the WDC highlighted the island's pertinent developmental needs, and expressed their gratitude to the administration for its efforts in developing the island.

The meeting saw Vice President Naseem stating that the President and the administration were closely monitoring the island's development projects and that the administration places a great value on carrying out these projects in accordance with the wishes of the island's residents.

After the meeting, the Vice President toured the Council Secretariat. He also visited the health center in the island and inquired about their services, and then visited Inguraidhoo School's annual scout camp and met with the students who were there.

The Vice President's second stop of the tour was Innamaadhoo island. The VP met with the members of the island council and WDC of Innamaadhoo and was briefed on the biggest issues facing the island community at present.

Highlighting that the incumbent administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih highly prioritizes listening to the concerns and needs of the people and carrying out developmental work based on the individual needs of the islands, VP Naseem noted that the necessary discussions will be held with relevant ministries in order to address the concerns raised at the meeting.

During his visit to Innamaadhoo, VP Naseem visited the island’s health center and engaged in talks with the senior management and staff regarding their service needs.

VP Naseem also toured the Zone II Regional Waste Management Facility in Vandhoo where he was briefed on the facility's operations. 

After the trip to Vandhoo, the Vice President visited Maakurathu Island in Raa atoll, and met with the members of the island council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) of the island.

During the meeting listened to these concerns raised by the members and assured that the issues will be discussed with the relevant authorities.

Additionally, he shed light on the ongoing development projects in the island and provided latest updates on their progress.

VP Naseem also stressed on the importance of working together for the benefit of the island community.

As part of the visit, VP Naseem also toured the island’s health center and inquired the staff about their needs and requirements. He went on to inspect the progress of the expansion building at the health center.

The tour also saw VP Naseem visiting Dhuvaafaru Island in Raa atoll. During the visit, the Vice President met with the members of the council and WDC, and held discussions on the most pertinent needs of the island community.

The meeting saw VP Naseem assuring that the administration remains committed to work closely with island communities and ensure decisions reflect the needs of these communities. He went on to assure the island council and WDC members that the administration is committed to complete the development initiatives, adding that the administration will work towards finding amicable solutions to the issues raised at the meeting.

The meeting was followed by a meeting with the management and staff of public offices and institutions of the island, followed by a visit to Dhuvaafaru health center, where he met with staff and inquired about its operations.

During his visit to Dhuvaafaru, the Vice President also took part in the "Raa Tourism Expo 2022" awards ceremony held in the island.

Taking the podium at the event, VP Naseem shed light on the resilience and hard work of tourism sector employees recorded over the past 50 years, extending his heartfelt gratitude to them.

He went on to touch down on the extraordinary sacrifices of tourism sector staff, especially the youth, who had been working away from their families. With this, VP Naseem thanked them for their invaluable contributions to the development of the sector.

VP Naseem went on to credit the success of the tourism sector to the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, despite being in the face of trying times presented by the global Covid-19 pandemic. He also credited the success and milestones achieved by the tourism sector of Maldives, to the hard work and dedication of the youth community working in the industry.

The ceremony saw the vice president conferring awards to the winners of the handicraft exhibition held as part of the exposition and the recipients of the Atoll Resort Awards.

He also received a commemorative plaque of appreciation from the Raa Atoll Council.

The last stop of his tour was R. Ungoofaaru. During his time in Ungoofaaru, the Vice President met with the island council members, the WDC and the management of public offices and institutions of the island.

The meeting saw Vice President Naseem speaking about the administration’s commitment to ensuring equitable development of all islands. As such, the Vice President stressed on the efforts of the administration to strengthen healthcare services across the country.

He also noted the recent developments in the education sector and highlighted efforts to train principals and other staff.

Speaking about the concerns raised by the community leaders at the meeting, the Vice President noted that they were related to projects progressing at different stages. He also assured the island’s representatives that the administration would work to address their concerns.

After the meeting, the Vice President met with the parents of Ungoofaaru School and listened to their concerns.

The Vice President also met with the management of the Ungoofaaru Regional Hospital. The meeting saw extensive discussions about the administration’s healthcare sector developmental plans for the Raa Atoll region.

As such, the meeting saw the Vice President briefing the hospital management about the administration’s plans to expand and strengthen healthcare services provided at the hospital, including installing new equipment and introducing new services.

The Vice President also toured the facility, met with the staff, and called on some patients. He also visited the project site of the hospital’s extension building and inspected the progress.

VP Naseem concluded his official visit to Raa Atoll and returned to Male' on Sunday.