Foreign Minister to attend SIDS4 conference in Antigua and Barbuda from 27-30 May

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud will attend the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), which will be held from 27 to 30 May in St John's, Antigua and Barbuda.

The Conference will be held at the American University of Antigua.

The Foreign Minister is scheduled to leave Dhaka today, a senior official told UNB.

In St. John's, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R. Verma will serve as alternate head of delegation at the SIDS4.

The Deputy Secretary will reaffirm the United States' commitment to support SIDS to advance their sustainability and achieve their vision for resilient prosperity, according to the US Department of State.

Under the overarching theme of "Charting the course toward resilient prosperity", the conference aims to assess SIDS's ability to achieve sustainable development, including the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

It will result in an intergovernmentally agreed, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented political outcome document.

The UN Secretary-General has appointed the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, as the Secretary-General of the Conference, responsible for guiding the intergovernmental and logistical preparations for the Conference.

He also appointed Rabab Fatima, the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, as the Special Adviser for the Conference, responsible for leading the advocacy and fundraising efforts.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) comprise 37 UN member nations and 20 associate members of regional commissions. They are uniquely and unfortunately positioned at the forefront of multiple global crises, notably climate change.

These remote economies prone to natural disasters were formally recognized as a special case for their environment and development at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Occupying less than 0.5 percent of the world's surface, these nations are spread across three key regions: the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea.

In the face of escalating global crises, including climate change and COVID-19, SIDS find themselves on the frontline, constantly navigating a cycle of environmental disasters and recovery efforts that test their resilience and ability to sustain their communities and economies.

SIDS grapples with high import and export costs, heavy reliance on external markets and limited natural resources. Tourism, a vital sector constituting about 30 percent of their GDP, was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.