Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Minister to attend SIDS4 conference in Antigua

Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud will attend the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) which will be held from May 27 to 30 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 the ability of SIDS to achieve sustainable development, including the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

It will result in an inter-governmentally 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 High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States Rabab Fatima, as 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, 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 both 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 per cent 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 through a cycle of environmental disasters and recovery efforts, which tests their resilience and ability to sustain their communities and economies.

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