President Nasheed will deliver a presidential address tomorrow at the People’s Majlis.
The president’s address will be delivered at 10:00am tomorrow, marking the first parliamentary session for this year.
President Nasheed declared 1 March a public holiday last week to commemorate the first sitting of the year of the People’s Majlis.
The presidential address will be webcast live via the President’s Office website
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(0)President Mohamed Nasheed met with the founders of Mission Maldives yesterday afternoon.
Mission Maldives is a voluntary organisation created by three British nationals. Its stated aim is to make voluntary programs in the Maldives more easily available and affordable.
Mission Maldives’ aim is to bring volunteers in the most needed areas, which are those currently lacking in suitable skilled and educated staff.
According to President Nasheed, the government has priority toward promoting greater involvement and contribution of volunteers in the socio-economic and political development of the country.
The organisation already has begun a number of programs with schools in the Maldives.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed today appointed Rugiyya Ahmed Didi as Undersecretary at the President’s Office.
Didi previously served as the Deputy Undersecretary at the President’s Office.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed met with UNDP Regional Director at the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Ligia Elizondo yesterday morning at the President’s Office.
President Nasheed and Elizondo discussed the UNDP projects in the Maldives. The president said that due to issues with project management, completion of a number of development projects had been delayed.
President Nasheed noted the importance of having a central project management office and sought technical assistance from UNDP to strengthen project management, project monitoring and ensuring projects would be to the greatest benefit to the people of the Maldives.
Elizondo assured the president that the UNDP would continue their assistance to the government of the Maldives and offered further assistance and advise to the government on development projects and their implementation.
(0)Dislikes(0)The new ambassador of Slovak Republic to the Maldives, Marián Tomášik, has presented his credentials to President Mohamed Nasheed at a ceremony held at the President’s Office yesterday afternoon.
The president and new ambassador discussed bilateral relations and the strengthening of ties between the two countries. Enhancing tourism cooperation between the two nations was a priority.
President Nasheed also mentioned the Maldives seeking membership of the UN Human Rights Council, and sought support of the Slovak Republic in achieving candidature. The president said human rights was the main agenda of the democratic reforms in the Maldives.
Ambassador Tomášik assured the president of his “full commitment” for further strengthening relations between both countries.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has informed the IMF that the government will continue its program to reduce public sector expenditure.
He met with the IMF’s Deputy Director for the Asia Pacific Region, Dr Kalpana Kochhar, at the President’s Office yesterday.
President Nasheed noted that the government has an agreement with the Civil Service Commission to reduce salaries due to the “extraordinary economic circumstances facing the country.”
The president also discussed the proposed taxation reforms which is being considered by the People’s Majlis.
Dr Kochhar assured the president of the IMF’s support for the government’s manifesto program.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has claimed that dealing with past human rights violations is one of the most difficult issues currently confronted by the government.
In a letter to the new Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, the president said the Maldives has recently emerged from a long period in which human rights “were routinely violated and in which many people, including members of the new Government, were tortured.”
“Thankfully, the country has been able to turn its back on such times and is now busy establishing itself as a modern liberal democracy with a full separation of powers and strong human rights safeguards,” the president wrote.
“One of the challenges facing the new Government as we look to consolidate democracy, rule of law and human rights is how to come to terms with the difficult episodes in our past without jeopardising our future.
“Dealing with the issue of torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is without doubt one of the more difficult issues we are confronted with, especially in our small closely-knit community. Our favoured approach is to avoid retribution and instead to recognise, come to terms with, and learn from such tragic episodes as a means of ensuring that the memory of the victims is honoured and that we avoid repeating the same mistakes.”
Bokova she is the first woman to hold the post since the foundation of UNESCO in 1945.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Nasheed has urged all political parties of the Maldives to opt for dialogue on national issues, during his weekly radio address, and spoke of the country’s economy.
The president said the government will be able to begin a number of new development projects within the next few months, provided with proper frameworks and funds.
He stressed the importance of passing the proposed taxation bill, and urged newly elected leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, to work on passing the bill.
The President spoke of the budget deficit and the need to to ensure a fast recovery from the economic downturn.
The taxation bill, along with the loans agreed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), should give the country a budget surpluss by 2012, he said.
Before concluding his address, the president noted the significant increase in the number of tourists arriving in the Maldives this January. With 67,478 tourists arriving in the month, it became the highest number of tourists arriving in the month of January in the last five years.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has met with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to review the economic recovery programme yesterday afternoon at the president’s office.
Members of the IMF mission were reportedly “very pleased” with the government’s fiscal and monetary policies. They “hailed” the government’s efforts to keep the budget deficit under control without printing extra money.
The President thanked the IMF for their continued support for the economic recovery of the country. IMF Executive Board approved a loan of USD 92.5 million last December to assist the economic recovery programme.
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