Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Secretary-General for the International Conference on Small Island Developing States
Welcome remarks
High Level Breakfast on Raising Visibility towards the 2014
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States
High Level Breakfast on Raising Visibility towards the 2014
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States
25 September 2013, New York
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,
Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa, the Hon. Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi,
President of the 68th Session of the General Assembly, Ambassador John Ashe,
President of the Republic of Nauru, and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, the Hon Baran Divavesi Waqa,
President of South Africa, the Hon. Mr. Jacob Zuma
President of the European Commission, Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso,
Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt Hon John Key,
My colleague, High Representative of Land Locked, Least Developed and Small Island Developing States, Mr. Gyan Acharya,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honour, as Secretary-General of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, to welcome you to this event. ?
We are here to highlight the Third International Conference on SIDS, which will take place on 1- 4 September 2014, in Apia, Samoa.
Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the government and people of Samoa for offering to host the Conference.
This summer saw intensive preparations for the Conference, with national consultations followed by three regional preparatory meetings, culminating in an inter-regional meeting in Barbados.
The review showed once again that SIDS are a special case for sustainable development due to their vulnerabilities.
At the Barbados inter-regional meeting, SIDS adopted an outcome document entitled “Integrated and Enabling Cooperation Framework for the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation”.
The inter-regional meeting also adopted the theme of the Conference, which is “Genuine and Durable Partnerships for the Sustainable Development of SIDS.”
The current General Assembly session will launch the global preparatory process for the Conference.
Your presence here demonstrates your commitment to the SIDS. I thank you for your participation.?
Despite his busy schedule, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has joined us.? He has been a strong champion of the SIDS.? I now have the honour to invite Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to deliver his Opening Remarks. ?