President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has urged the international community to renew their commitment to democracy.

He made this remark while delivering his national statement at the second “Summit for Democracy” on Wednesday.

The second Summit for Democracy was hosted by the President of the United States of America Joe Biden.

As such, in his statement the Maldivian leader called on the globe to renew their commitment to democracy as democracy requires continual renewal, adaptation, and innovation.

Adding that democracy also demands the active participation and commitment of everyone, President Solih urged the international community to join forces to create a better future for both the present and future generations.

Shedding light on the significant progress Maldives has made since the first summit back in 2021, the Maldivian leader noted that effective functioning of a democracy requires two very important fundamentals; fiscal accountability and transparency.

Noting that his administration had proposed two amendments to the legislation to ensure greater independence for local councils and strengthen public procurement policies and audit mechanisms, President Solih assured that his administration is working towards moving to performance-based budgeting.

The statement also saw President Solih highlighting that one of the priorities of his administration is judicial reform, adding that public perception of the country’s judiciary has “significantly” improved over the past four years, with more swift and transparent court proceedings currently in place.

With an aim to enable the establishment of district courts and the circuit system, which would ensure greater efficiency and accessibility, the government has also proposed an amendment to the Judicature Act to the People’s Majlis.

The president went on to shed light on his efforts to promote gender equality and ensuring the inclusion of women in decision-making roles, describing it as one area in which his administration “excelled”.

The Solih administration has appointed female justices to the Supreme Court, achieved parity in the Maldives' diplomatic representation abroad, and increased the number of women councilors in local government over the course of the past four years.

President Solih highlighted that his administration's Gender Equality Action Plan of 2022 is a step towards increasing the representation of women in local government, corporate governance, the People’s Majlis, as well as the judiciary.

Stressing on the significance of a free and independent civil society for a properly functioning participatory democracy, the Maldivian leader noted that threats to the safety of civil society organizations are considered detrimental to an open society in the archipelago nation.

Further, he stated that the administration-led Associations Act aims to empower civil society organizations financially by allocating more significant financial resources from the state, adding that with the introduction of an NGO portal, civil society organizations will have access to information and resources to increase their collective capacity.