Mohamed Mabrook Azeez, who was announced as the newly-appointed Spokesperson at the President's Office on 10 January, met with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Thursday to discuss the state of media affairs within the President's Office and offer alternatives.

Mabrook, former Spokesperson for the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) and Undersecretary of Communications at the President's Office, revealed via Twitter that he had met with President Solih to set the path for improved media and public communication mechanisms.

Mabrook shared details of the meeting with RaajjeMV, stating that he and the President had discussed hosting regular, bi-monthly press conferences on behalf of the President's Office from February onwards, and avenues through which to improve information conduits to ease media accessibility for members of the public and external media outlets.

Additionally, Mabrook and President Solih also examined the possibility of creating a special 'Press Corps' at the President's Office under Mabrook's directive as the newly-appointed Spokesperson. Mabrook further revealed that the 'Press Corps' would be created based on the outcome of discussions with news and media outlets in the country, and that positions on the corps would be reserved for select representatives of different medias.

The announcement of Mabrook's promotion from the post of Undersecretary of Communication's to the President's Spokesperson was made by Ibrahim Hood, Chief Communications Strategist at the President's Office, following his relinquishment of the position of Spokesperson.

Hood revealed that his focus from this point forward would be on the "overall communications effort" at the President's Office, and has since handed over administration of the official Twitter account of the President's Spokesperson to Mabrook.

The President’s Office has not hosted a press briefing in the past seven months or so, despite their assurance that regular conferences would take place to keep members of the public up-to-speed on the efforts being conducted by President Solih’s administration across key sectors.

A young, well-respected and educated youth leader, Mabrook became a household figure following the global Covid-19 pandemic while serving as the spokesperson of the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) until July 2020.

Mabrook hosted press conferences for NEOC as part of their efforts to bring the latest and most factual information to the public when citizens had been faced with the terrifying realities of the Covid-19 pandemic for the first time last year.

During his time as spokesperson of the NEOC, Mabrook received praise and from the public for his pleasant demeanor, attentive responses and unflinching candor in addressing difficult issues such as individual responsibility in mitigating the spread of the Covid-19.

Mabrook's appointment as the new Spokesperson for the President's Office is being well-received, with many expressing hopes that he will catalyze significant and lasting change during his time as a member of the Solih administration.