Small Island Developing States

The High-level Segment/ Ministerial Meeting of HLPF 2018 opened on Monday at UN Headquarters in New York. The opening session was followed by two sessions on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), where 14 countries presented their reports: Ecuador, Kiribati, Lithuania, Mali, Guinea, Greece, Mexico, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Benin, Cabo Verde, Slovakia, Bahrain, Colombia, and Viet Nam. A parallel session in the afternoon included: reporting on regional forums; an address by the President of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA); an introduction to the UN Secretary-General’s reports on the UN Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) main theme and thematic discussion; and an introduction to the report of the Committee for Development Policy. A general debate started on Monday afternoon. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. Visit our coverage of selected side events at HLPF 2018 IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from HLPF 2018. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening of the High-Level Segment of ECOSOC / Ministerial Segment of HLPF View of the dais during the opening of the high-level segment Miroslav Lajčák, President of the UNGA UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed Marie Chatardová, President of ECOSOC Michelle Yeoh, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador and Actress Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Delegates gather for the opening of the High-Level Segment Voluntary National Reviews Mahamane A. Maiga, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mali José Augusto Briones, National Secretary of Planning and Development, Ecuador Socrates Famellos, Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy, Greece Teuea Toatu, Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Kiribati Kęstutis Navickas, Minister of Environment, Lithuania Delegates watch a video about fabrics made from sustainable wood fibers, presented by Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and Actress Kanny Diallo, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Guinea Abdullah Naser Lootah, Director General, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, UAE Luis Fernando Mejía Alzate, Minister of National Planning, Colombia José da Silva Gonçalves, Minister of Tourism and Transport, and Maritime Economy, Cabo Verde Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, Minister of State for Planning and Development, Benin Francisco Guzmán Ortiz, Head of the Office of the President, Mexico Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Mutawa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Bahrain Richard Raši, Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Information, Slovakia Nguyen The Phuong, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Planning and Development, Viet Nam Reporting on Regional Forums Delegates gather in the Trusteeship Council for the report on regional forums Jerry Matthews Matjila, Vice-President, ECOSOC Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Georgia Mame Thierno Dieng, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Senegal Ghassan Hasbani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Lebanon Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Cuba Siim Kiisler, President of UNEA, and Minister of Environment, Estonia Michael Gerber, Special Envoy for Global Sustainable Development, Federal Department for Foreign Affairs, Switzerland General Debate View of the dais during the general debate José Antonio Ocampo, Chair, UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Alicia Beatriz Pucheta de Correa, Vice-President, Paraguay, speaking on behalf of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, EU President Thomas Esang Remengesau Jr., Palau, speaking on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Around the Venue Sergio Bergman, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Argentina UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed speaks with delegates Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General, Economic and Social Affairs, speaks with Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN Erik Solheim, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, and Jamil Ahmad, UNEP Reinaldo Salgado, Brazil, speaks with a delegate Delegates from Kyrgyzstan Delegates from Jamaica Delegates from Guinea Ibrahim Thiaw, UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Sahel Delegates between sessions An exhibition about the New Urban Agenda and the 'Right to the City' encourages people to understand the linkages between SDGs, and how these relate to creating sustainable cities