During his first day of official meetings at the United Nations General Assembly’s 78th session in New York, Prime Minister Gaston Browne expressed his gratitude to the UK Government for its impressive support in ensuring the success of next year’s SIDS4 Conference.

The Antiguan and Barbudan leader met with the UK’s Development Minister, the Hon. Andrew Mitchell, and thanked him for the financial support pledged by the UK government for the May 27-30 world gathering of island nations.

In addition to the financial aid, the UK is also providing technical expertise on the islands and at the Antigua and Barbuda Mission in New York, which is leading the coordination of the event in consultation with the support of the United Nations.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Health and Environment Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph and Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister EP Chet Greene at the bilateral discussion with the senior UK minister.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister also sought the UK’s support in debt sustainability considerations for SIDS, recognizing the country’s role as a non-borrowing member of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Prime Minister Browne has consistently argued that the burden of onerous debt exacerbates the issues of climate change and other threats that stand in the way of Antigua and Barbuda achieving sustained economic growth.