Excellencies,
Colleagues,
I commend the Co-Chairs for convening this meeting ¨C to take stock of the work of the Steering Committee over the past year and to review its 2024 work programme, including the SIDS Partnership Framework.
The Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States is fast approaching. Last week, the Preparatory Committee convened its second session and made remarkable progress on the SIDS4 outcome document. I acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the Preparatory Committee and its Co-Chairs for their able leadership and effective co-facilitation of the outcome document.
SIDS are still recovering from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis.
The adverse effects of sea-level rise and other climate impacts continue to grow.
The very existence of SIDS depends on the global action to combat climate change and support the sustainable development. This global action requires a strengthened multi-stakeholder partnership that will contribute to sustainable development for all.
Excellencies,
Multi-stakeholder partnerships harness diverse stakeholders from various sectors, leveraging resources to address complex challenges, foster innovation, engage local communities, and catalyze transformative change toward shared prosperity and environmental health.
The SIDS Partnership Framework facilitates such opportunities. The Framework has evolved into a comprehensive platform, accelerating knowledge exchange on partnerships for SIDS.
It is time we redouble our efforts. We must work to engage wider stakeholders to enhance capacities and facilitating resource mobilization. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the generous financial support of the Government of Portugal to strengthen the Framework for the next decade of action for SIDS.
We look forward to the third UN SIDS Partnerships Awards ceremony in July, where we will recognize some of the most impactful partnerships for SIDS in the economic, social and environmental categories.
I am confident that through our continued collective efforts, we will be able to launch more partnerships, working together to achieve sustainable development of SIDS.
Please be assured of UN DESA¡¯s continued support of the SIDS Partnership Framework.
Thank you.