Good morning, Your Excellencies, Co-Chairs of the SIDS Partnership Steering Committee, Ambassador Deslandes, and Ambassador Mohamed,
Excellencies,
Under-Secretary,
Distinguished delegates,
The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States is clear.
Partnerships are critical to SIDS.
It¡¯s not a vision anymore it¡¯s a fact.
For they face pressures they cannot surmount alone, including the climate crisis; a crisis to which they contributed the least, yet for which they pay the greatest costs.
You know better than me the effects of climate change, every day.
The recent devastation Hurricane Melissa causedin the Caribbean is yet another reminder of its intensifying impacts.
Storms and floods have always existed, but today¡¯s conditions make them more destructive, more frequent, and harder to recover from.
I will never forget when I visited Fiji last year, walking barefoot on the sand alongside an elderly grandmother near her home by the ocean.
Across the beach, as waves rolled in, I saw stones ¨C which looked? a bit different from other stones ¨C in the water.
I asked if we could go there. She explained to me that these were not normal stones, but gravestones, from a cemetery that had been swept into the sea as the shoreline receded.
That¡¯s the daily reality. Nothing abstract to Small Island Developing States, facing the loss of their graveyards, in some countries, their schools near the ocean, their homes, their futures.
All in danger of being swallowed by the ocean, if we do are not acting together, on the 1.5 degree pathway.
Acting together on mitigation but also acting together through partnership. Partnerships which are well-financed, predictable, and nationally aligned. For resilience to combat climate change, to fight the rising seas, and to the broader economic and environmental pressures SIDS face.
Yet limited resources, ineffective mechanisms and inadequate coordination too often prevent partnerships from taking root or lasting long enough to deliver real impact.
Delivering therefore on the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda demands that we confront these shortcomings ¨C and the work of the steering committee has done important steps on this pathway.
Because it requires mobilising the political will and financial resources necessary to build a broader, and more durable network of partnerships for Small Island Developing States.
Partnerships that help shoulder burdens; that bring together civil society, youth networks, regional organizations and governments; and that can scale solutions already demonstrating their value.
Partnerships that last, and that expand access to the human, financial, technical and technological capacities essential for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Towards these ends, strengthening and adapting the SIDS Partnership Framework is essential.
The Framework was created to ensure that partnerships do more than exist on paper and are strategic, coherent and aligned with SIDS¡¯ national priorities.
To ensure the Framework fully complements and advances the vision of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda, it must evolve and prioritise:
- Mapping gaps and needs systematically so partnerships respond to SIDS driven priorities rather than external agendas.
- Integrating national, regional and global efforts so the work of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entities, development banks, private sector partners and regional organisations are streamlined, without duplication ¨C which is also important input for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 process, where we are trying to do the same.
- Building demand driven capacity that enables SIDS to lead on digital transitions, climate resilience, blue economy development and financial planning.
- Creating stronger knowledge platforms so innovations developed in SIDS¡ªfrom adaptation tools to renewable energy models¡ªcirculate quickly and widely.
In shaping this vision ¨C which is now more than a vision – I encourage Member States to draw inspiration from partnerships already delivering results.
Several such examples were highlighted in a recent study by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and we will learn from them in the afternoon. For example:
- In the Caribbean, the Caribbean Climate Justice Alliance and the SIDS CSO Coalition are strengthening community level resilience through work on climate justice, sustainable tourism and local capacity building.
- In the Pacific, the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific, and the Pacific Youth Council show how coastal protection, traditional knowledge and youth leadership can reinforce development grounded in island realities.
These examples demonstrate that when partnerships reflect local contexts, respond to climate pressures and elevate community voices, they are far more likely to endure and deliver lasting impact.
Excellencies,
As I said, you do not need me to explain the situation you face daily.
Yet as President of the General Assembly, I will encourage others to mobilise the resources SIDS need to confront climate change and the other challenges you face ¡ª because for you, partnerships are a lifeline.
They determine whether graveyards, kindergartens, and schools are protected, or swallowed by the ocean.
They determine whether a coastal village is rebuilt after a storm or left behind.
Whether a child can quickly return to school after a hurricane.
Whether fishing communities can adapt to warming seas without losing their livelihoods.
The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda offers a clear direction on how to advance partnerships that address SIDS¡¯ priorities.
Let us use this dialogue as a meaningful opportunity to move this vision forward.
And I thank all for your engagement, especially the Co-Chairs.
Thank you.
Watch Full Broadcast ?2025 Global Multi-Stakeholder (SIDS Steering Committee on partnerships)