On 14th December 2021, The first Asia Pacific Day event of Maldives was, co-organized by UNCITRAL RCAP, the Maldives National University (“MNU”), Villa College, Avid College, and Maldives Moot Court Society (“MMCS”).

The event took place remotely under the theme “How UNCITRAL texts on Arbitration and Mediation benefit Medium and Small Seized Enterprises (MSMEs)”.

The event was attended by approximately 39 participants, comprising students, academics, lawyers, and legal practitioners.

The Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Shariah and Law, Villa College, opened the event.

The Head of UNCITRAL RCAP, Ms. Athita Komindr provided an overview of UNCITRAL instruments on dispute resolution.

Dr. Rajesh Sharma, a Senior Lecturer at MIT University introduced the Singapore Convention on Mediation and its opportunities for the Maldives.

Aminath Raya Ali, then presented on the Maldives Arbitration Act.

This was followed by an introduction of the UNCITRAL RCAP internship programme with current interns sharing their experiences.

The President of MMCS, Suma Ilyas closed the event by stressing the importance of raising awareness of UNCITRAL instruments among law students, who are the next generation of legal thinkers and policymakers.