Future of SIDS focus of conference

THE world will not be sustainable if the Small Island Developing States are not sustained.

This was the clear statement made by Under-secretary General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs for the United Nations, Wu Hongbo, as he spoke during a press briefing after the opening of the SIDS Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Third International Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States on Monday at the Hilton Barbados.

Under-secretary General, Department of Economic and
Social Affairs for the United Nations, Wu Hongbo.

He stated that while it was difficult to predict what will come out of the conference over the next three days, he nevertheless expressed his confidence that the countries would be unified in their position as to what the priorities of the grouping are, in order to raise their voices to the international community on the myriad of issues affecting them.

“What is the significance of the outcome of the conference is that it serves a far-reaching purpose. For example, the member states of the United Nations are discussing the post-2015 development agenda. In the next several months, they will tackle specifically some issues related to SIDS; for instance seas and oceans, special vulnerabilities of low and middle income countries. So this conference is timely,” he added.

Stating that the United Nations was very much engaged in ensuring the protection of the SIDS, he noted that the conference should be viewed as another step towards next year’s Third International Meeting on the Sustainable Development of SIDS in Samoa.

“I hope this meeting when it is concluded in Barbados is not the end of the journey, but only a starting point for the next process that will be next year in Samoa,” he stressed. (JMB)