St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
Distinguished Co-chairs,
Ambassador Seid,
Ambassador Mythen,
USG Fatima,
Excellencies,
Distinguished panellists,
Colleagues,
I am pleased to join this event on “Partnerships in the new Decade of Action for SIDS”.
I thank the Permanent Representatives of Ireland and Palau to the United Nations, for their leadership in organizing this event, and USG Fatima and her team for their support.
Today’s event is intended to review SIDS’ sustainable development progress and look at how partnerships could help turbocharge their path to resilient prosperity over the next ten years.
Such revitalized partnerships are essential as SIDS redouble their efforts to overcome the unique mix of challenges before them.
Adverse impacts of climate change continue to disproportionately affects SIDS.
Many are grappling heavy debt burden and high costs-of-living.
Lack of data continues to impede informed policymaking in SIDS and hamper efforts to monitor and evaluate progress.
Access to new and enabling technologies, like artificial intelligence, remains limited, along with the capacities for addressing the risks.
Excellencies,
Multi-stakeholder partnerships have the power to mobilize the knowledge, financial and human resources needed to tackle these challenges. They are also effective tool to drive transformation towards mutual prosperity and ecological well-being in SIDS.
The outcome of SIDS4 - The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) – includes a request to the UN Secretary-General, in consultation with Member States and the Steering Committee on partnerships for SIDS, to to present recommendations for the strengthening of the SIDS Partnership Framework.
UN DESA, with financial support from the Government of Portugal, has developed a set of preliminary strategies to strengthen the Framework to support the new programme of action for SIDS.
You will learn about these in greater detail shortly.
I look forward to hearing your views and recommendations on how partnerships can advance the ABAS, including through the future SIDS Partnership Framework.
Rest assured that UN DESA remains firmly committed to promoting effective partnerships to strengthen development progress in SIDS.
Thank you.