President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has attended the 'Masveringe Gunzaru 2023' forum.

Organized by the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources to mark this year's Fishermen's Day, the forum saw President Muizzu responding to inquiries posed by the fishermen in attendance, and joining them for a feast at Meerumaa Hall.

Saturday’s forum was attended by boat captains, owners, fishermen as well as other industry professionals across the country.

Representatives from the fishermen’s community briefed the president on the challenges and concerns surfacing in their line of work and detailed their experiences and aspirations for the betterment of the industry.

The fisher community shed light on the struggles they face and requested necessary improvements to be implemented within the industry.

Extending gratitude to the president for organizing Saturday’s session to address their questions, they fishermen went on to emphasize their aspirations towards fulfilling the presidential pledges for the progress of the fisheries sector.

Listening to the aspirations of the community, President Muizzu noted his strategic vision for the betterment of the fisheries sector and shed light on his plans to expand the sector to reap the maximum potential benefits within the territorial waters of Maldives.

In addition to this, President Muizzu touched upon his strategy to increase the profitability of the fisheries sector through infrastructural development, including the establishment of processing factories as well as cold storage facilities.

Highlighting that the concerns of fishermen were previously outlined and addressed through his presidential pledges, President Muizzu clarified the details of the presidential deposits.

Assuring the fishermen that his campaign pledges were sincere, President Muizzu reiterated his administration’s commitment to their implementation.

He went on to express belief that the fisheries sector is the most sustainable sector of the island nation and expressed commitment to ensure the development of the sector, to ensure it becomes the most important revenue-generating industry of Maldives.

President Muizzu stated that he would prioritize supporting the development of the fisheries sector through foreign aid and highlighted that the new administration has successfully settled the outstanding payments owed to fishermen by the previous administration, within the first three weeks since he assumed office.

In addition to this, President Muizzu noted that joint efforts are underway between the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Ltd (MIFCO) and the Ministry of Finance to distribute the pending payment amounting to MVR 140 million.

Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam also spoke at the forum, stating that President Muizzu would announce important decisions at the official Fishermen’s Day function, regarding discussions held at the 'Masveringe Gunzaru 2023' forum.

The minister shed light on the Muizzu administration’s focus on enhancing the sector, with the first paper presented to the Cabinet of Ministers and the first decision made by the cabinet, being regarding the fisheries sector.

President Muizzu joined the attendees for a communal dinner following the forum.