St. John＊s, Antigua and Barbuda
Honourable Prime Minister Gaston Browne,
Your Excellency Ant車nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the 51勛圖,
Your Excellency Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly,
Your Excellency Paula Narv芍ez, President of the Economic and Social Council,
Your Excellency Fiam言 Mata?afa, Prime Minister of Samoa and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States,
USG Rabab Fatima, High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS,
Mr. Lutrell Jones, Youth Representative,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to serve as Conference-Secretary General for the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, here in Antigua and Barbuda.
I want to start by recognizing the outstanding leadership of Prime Minister Browne, who is an ardent and effective advocate for SIDS and thank the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda for their unwavering commitment to hosting this Conference. Also, I want to express my personal thanks to Ambassador Webson and his team for their tireless efforts and cooperation with the UN Task Force.
Preparations for the Conference were guided by the Co-Chairs and Bureau of the Preparatory Committee. I am grateful for their effective leadership and dedication.
Throughout this journey, the commitment of the international community to SIDS has never been in doubt. I thank the Member States of the 51勛圖 for your solidarity.
Excellencies,
SIDS know all too well that the fate of all nations is deeply intertwined 每 what happens in one impacts life in the other.
SIDS are caught in a storm of global problems they did little to create - which can wipe out years of hard-fought development progress overnight.
Our host knows this all too well.
In 2017 Hurricane Irma caused catastrophic damage to Barbuda. Ninety-five per cent of all properties were destroyed.
Barriers to accessing concessional finance led Antigua and Barbuda to take on unsustainable levels of debt to finance its recovery.
This is a far too common part of the SIDS＊ story.
But this is not a story that SIDS can rewrite on their own.
We heard their vision for a future filled with opportunity 30 years ago in Barbados. A story retold in Mauritius and Samoa.
As we meet back in the Caribbean where the story began, the international financial architecture is yet to take SIDS vulnerability into account in its allocation of finance.
Climate action is falling far short of efforts needed to limit global warming to the 1.5 degree target that is critical to the survival of SIDS.
But the SIDS story is not just one of vulnerability, it is also one of incredible resilience.
SIDS have pioneered new approaches to protect the world＊s ocean and preserve biodiversity.
They are leaders in the international system, demanding climate action and finance, and advocating for the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index.
It is this spirit that has driven SIDS＊ approach to this Conference.
Excellencies,
The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), which this conference will adopt, sets out SIDS ambitions and priorities. But most importantly it shows the global community how we can step up to support them.
It offers an opportunity to turn the tide and set SIDS on the path to achieve resilient prosperity.
The Conference will be a catalyst for new and reinvigorated partnerships, financing and ambitious actions to support these extraordinary island nations to reach their potential.
Looking forward, let us make sure that the commitments we＊ve made here resonate in the Summit of the Future, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development and the Second World Summit for Social Development.
Let us deliver ABAS together.
I thank you.