“Our smallness will not hold us back—not anymore.” This statement by the Maldives captured the determination showcased throughout the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
In the morning of the final day, the fifth interactive dialogue focused on investing in human capital: addressing the health crisis in SIDS and building the potential of youth in SIDS. The afternoon began with A Moment of Declaration: Feedback from Youth Summit, Private Sector Forum, Gender Forum, High-level meeting, and Civil Society Forum.
Delegates heard reports on the Interactive Dialogues, and a report on the High-level meeting with international financial institutions, development banks, and major donors on resource mobilization for SIDS.
The delegates then adopted the “Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS: A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity” (ABAS) as the outcome of the Conference, and recommended that the UN General Assembly endorse ABAS during its upcoming 78th session.
Closing statements included accolades for the warm hospitality and smoothly-run meeting provided by Antigua and Barbuda. Cabo Verde announced his country would host SIDS5 in 2035.
During her intervention, the representative from Barbados, where the first SIDS conference took place 30 years ago, cited Antigua and Barbuda’s national motto, “Each endeavoring, all achieving,” as a fitting note on which to conclude the meeting.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For the 4th SIDS Conference, please use: Photo by IISD/ENB - Diego Noguera
Interactive Dialogue on Investing in Human Capital
Delegates during the Fireside Chat portion of the Fifth Interactive Dialogue
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Vickram Outar Bharrat, Minister of Natural Resources, Guyana
Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General, the Commonwealth
Fireside Chat Moderator Cindy McCain, Executive Director, UN World Food Programme (WFP)
Interactive Dialogue Co-Chair José Ulisses de Pina Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde
Karuna Rana, Co-Founder, SIDS Youth AIMS Hub (SYAH)
Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellness, Social Transformation and the Environment, Antigua and Barbuda
Jesus Enrique Garcia II, the Philippines
Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, US
Interpreters during the Dialogue
A Moment of Declaration: Reporting back from Special Events
Horisha Savy, SIDS Youth and Children Action Summit Steering Committee, reports on the SIDS Global Children and Youth Action Summit (CYAS)
Meghan Theobalds, Equality Fund, reports on the SIDS Gender Equality Forum.
Auli‘i Cravalho, SDG News, reports on the 2024 SIDS Global Business Network and the SIDS4 Private Sector Roundtable
Nicola Bird, Integrated Health Outreach, reports on the SIDS4 Civil Society Forum.
Closing Plenary
Gaston Browne, President of the 4th SIDS Conference, gavels the Conference to a close at 4:22 pm
Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, Maldives
Sandrina Thondoo, on behalf of Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands
Christophe Eick, on behalf of Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, Germany
Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, Minister of Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago
Pedro Lopes, Secretary of State for Digital Economy, Cabo Verde
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Belize
Ambassador Carolyn Schwalger, Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the UN
Ambassador Walton Webson, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
Members of the Secretariat of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
The delegation from Thailand
SIDS4 Flag-lowering Ceremony
Everly Paul Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs, Antigua and Barbuda, and Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, during the flag lowering ceremony at the venue
Everly Paul Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs, Antigua and Barbuda
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
Around the Venue
Gaston Browne, President of the 4th SIDS Conference, and Karmenu Vella, Malta
Antigua and Barbuda souvenirs found at the cultural fair
Local police present at the 4th SIDS Conference
A participant during a break
Youlia Lozanova, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and Adriana Alberti, UN DESA
The ENB team at SIDS4 (L-R): Andrés Carvajal, Colombia; Joyce Melcar Tan, the Philippines; Diego Noguera, Colombia; Teya Penniman, US; Daniel Bertram, Germany; with Rosalie Boyle, Keith Ripley, and Nancy Williams, US