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UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his gratitude to the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda for hosting a conference with 5,000 people on their small island.

He emphasized the importance of resilience and prosperity for small developing island States and called for justice in international economic and financial relations.

Guterres highlighted the unfairness of small island nations being disproportionately impacted by climate change without having contributed to it.

He also emphasized the challenges faced by middle-income countries in accessing funding and debt relief despite being severely affected by global economic and financial rules.

Guterres stressed the need for the conference to be a call to action for addressing climate, finance, and economic justice.

He also called for the recognition of the unique challenges faced by small island developing States and the need to change existing global economic and financial rules to ensure resilience and prosperity.