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Maldives president holds record 15-hour press conference
Maldives president holds record 15-hour press conference
by AFP Staff Writers
Colombo (AFP) May 4, 2025

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu addressed a press conference for nearly 15 hours, his office said on Sunday, claiming it broke a previous record held by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Muizzu, 46, began the marathon press conference at 10:00 am (0500 GMT) on Saturday, and it continued for 14 hours and 54 minutes with brief pauses for prayers, his office said in a statement.

"The conference extended past midnight -- a new world record by a president -- with President Muizzu continuously responding to questions from journalists," the statement said.

In October 2019, Ukraine's National Records Agency claimed that Zelensky's 14-hour press conference had broken an earlier record of over seven hours held by Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko.

The government of the Indian Ocean archipelago said Muizzu's extended session was also intended to coincide with World Press Freedom Day on Saturday.

"He acknowledged the crucial role of the press in society and emphasised the importance of factual, balanced, and impartial reporting," the statement added.

During the lengthy session, Muizzu also responded to questions submitted by members of the public via journalists.

The statement said Muizzu, who came to power in 2023, was also marking his island nation's rise by two places to 104th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

During Saturday's session, he answered a wide range of questions, the statement said.

Around two dozen reporters attended and were served food.

A predecessor of Muizzu set another world record by holding the first-ever underwater cabinet meeting in 2009, to highlight the threat of rising sea levels that could swamp the low-lying nation.

Former president Mohamed Nasheed plunged into the Indian Ocean followed by his ministers, all in scuba gear, for a nationally televised meeting.

The Maldives is on the frontline of the battle against global warming, which could raise sea levels and swamp the nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered across the equator.

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