I am delighted to visit Samoa for the first time as Secretary-General. I thank the Government and people of Samoa for their very kind, great hospitality and warm welcome.

I deeply appreciate all that the Samoan citizens have done to welcome the international community. I was very much touched by such warm hearts of the Samoan people. I am especially impressed by the energy and talent of the many young Samoans I have seen.

The United Nations has gathered the world in Apia to show our support for Small Island Developing States everywhere.

I have had substantive talks with His Excellency Prime Minister Tuilaepa of Samoa.

I thanked him for Samoa’s contributions to peacekeeping and many other goals and objectives of the United Nations.

Let me say a few words about the issue of peacekeepers serving with the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan.

I again demand the immediate and unconditional release of these brave blue helmets who deployed to the region to bring stability for the sake of the people. We are working around the clock for their release.

Yesterday, from Apia, I have spoken to the Prime Minister of Fiji and I explained the current status of negotiations with armed groups between our Force Commanders and United Nations entities and armed groups, and I assured him the United Nations would spare no efforts to have early release of Fijian peacekeepers.

The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States is extremely important to our collective future.

I thank the Prime Minister. And I also commend his great leadership on the SIDS agenda.

This Conference is the largest international gathering ever to be held in the Pacific region. Representatives of more than 100 countries are here. More than half of them are ministers, prime ministers and presidents.

This is also the place where we had discussions at length about how to forge partnerships with civil and business communities.

More than 300 partnerships are taking concrete shape here with monetary and other pledges covering a huge range of economic, social and environmental initiatives.

These have enormous promise.

Let me give you some examples.

Google and National Geographic announced plans to help Pacific countries with technology and expertise for the sustainable use of marine resources.

The ENEL of Italy committed to installing their new wave energy technology in the small islands.

The multinational company Digicel decided to promote the use of information and communications technology during disasters.

The World Travel and Tourism Council announced the formation of the Global Travel Association Coalition to address issues of statistics.

This Conference has defined a pathway for the sustainable development of SIDS through strong partnerships of solidarity and shared progress.

The focus is on solutions addressing climate change, clean and renewable energy, ocean stewardship, sustainable tourism, waste management, social development and sustainable economic growth.

These are urgent priorities for the entire world.

The Prime Minister and I also discussed the key role of SIDS in the Climate Summit that I will host in New York on September 23rd.

I am encouraged by the efforts of SIDS to mobilize political will towards finalizing a meaningful universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015.

Small island nations are also in the vanguard of climate action – from promoting greater resilience to accelerating the use of renewable energy.

SIDS are on the front lines of climate change.

Many of their leaders will attend the Climate Summit and address its various sessions.

This morning I had a very good meeting with heads of State and government with the Member States of AOSIS, the Alliance of Small Island Developing States, and I also invited the Prime Minister to speak on behalf of SIDS in the Energy session.

At the Climate Summit and at the SIDS Conference here in Apia, multi-stakeholder partnerships will provide the key to unlocking the future we want.

The global community will now build on the great waves of momentum from Samoa’s ocean shores as we define a bold post-2015 development that can provide a life of dignity for all.

As far as the United Nations is concerned, as a way of ensuring implementation of the recommendations and decisions of the SIDS Conference, the SAMOA Pathway, I am going to convene a meeting of what is called the CEB - that is the Chief Executives Board - where all heads of UN agencies, specialized agencies, funds and programmes are gathering.

I am going to be there at 4 p.m. right after this press conference to ensure and to urge our United Nations agencies to work as one team to reflect the decisions and recommendations of this SIDS Conference and communities.

I am very much encouraged by the strong commitment and engagement of leaders of SIDS. I am sure this will also bring good spirit, energy and political will to negotiations on sustainable development, as well as immediately for my climate change summit meeting in September in New York.

Thank you very much

Fa'afetai.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is being done for countries such as Tokelau and Tuvalu, threatened by rising sea-levels?

Secretary-General: All the countries of coastal, small island developing countries have been experiencing the same problems. Therefore we should have common and comprehensive approaches. This is what we are doing. I myself have visited Solomon Islands and Kiribati. This is my third visit to this part of the world. Of course, I have visited other areas where I could see the impact of climate change in a different way.

Therefore, the United Nations is very much committed to addressing all those concerns of each and every country. Please be assured that this is one of the top issues. We have dedicated a Department who deals with SIDS issues.

Under-Secretary-General Wu, while he is chairing, working as Secretary-General of this Conference, is also responsible for all social, economic issues of member States, particularly countries in this area. I have another Under-Secretary-General who is dealing with these issues of Small Island Developing States and landlocked countries, and least developed countries. The United Nations system is working comprehensively addressing all the issues.

Q: Is there any room for regional inter-governmental agencies in the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway?

Secretary-General: That is I think the most important issue we have been discussing during many, many years: what should be done. We have identified problems. We have agreed on many good recommendations. The important thing is how to provide tools, ways and means to these concerns and ensure that these promises and agreements are implemented. This morning, I was meeting with leaders of AOSIS. They expressed this, what is the accountability, what is the mechanism of ensuring this implementation.

Now I would like to say this way at the international, regional and national level, the SAMOA Pathway implementation should be high in the agenda of the General Assembly, ECOSOC and the High-Level Political Forum. Then at the regional level all regional entities should focus on implementation.

I’m here in Apia with the Executive Director of ESCAP, in charge of the Asia-Pacific area. We have another four regional commissions. All these five regional commissions are fully engaged in implementing this issue. That means the United Nations will be fully accountable.

At the national level, I am asking the leaders of Member States to have this SAMOA Pathway reflected in their national planning. That is one thing.

Now I will make sure that all CEB entities, that means all specialized agencies of the United Nations and Bretton Woods institutions – the World Bank and IMF –, all themselves will be involved in implementing this SAMOA Pathway. In fact, during my luncheon meeting with the CEB leaders, the IMF also participated.

I will also make sure that GEF and GCF, this is the new one, the Green Climate Fund, should be capitalized and help finance activities related to climate mitigation and adaptation. Again, I am assuring you that the United Nations will be accountable on this.

Q: How is the Samoa Conference outcome going to be different than the previous ones, which haven’t been followed by any action?

Secretary-General: The Barbados Programme of Action was taken 20 year ago, supported by the Port Louis Declaration 10 years later. Now we are meeting after 10 years. This is the third time.

As I said earlier, there have been many recommendations and decisions adopted, lots of discussion and even concerns raised by member States, particularly developing ones, that many of the promises, declarations have not been met, particularly in the area of financing.

So Member States have been discussing since the beginning of this year very seriously how we can make sure that there will be tools and ways and means, particularly financing, capacity-building.

That is what we are now making sure that we will do. When it comes to general financing for development issues, Member States will have a big international conference in July next year, in Addis Ababa, just before adoption the Sustainable Development Goals, the post-2015 development agenda. Once it is announced, it will be accompanied by an implementation mechanism.

Q: How much money has been pledged and actually received to fight climate change?

Secretary-General: As you remember, in 2009, in Copenhagen, there was an agreement that one hundred billion dollars will be mobilized by the end of 2020; and before that, that $30 billion out of $100 billion should be mobilized before the end of 2012.

I think this has been met but there is not much clear roadmap for having $100 billion. We may have $70 billion by the end of 2020, and thereafter $100 billion dollars.

That is why Member States, after having discussed, have established the Green Climate Fund. It is already established in Songdo, in the Republic of Korea. It is largely an empty shell.

Therefore, during this summit meeting in September, our target is to have at least $10-15 billion for capitalization of this Green Climate Fund. We are getting positive response from various member States, and we are working very hard.

As I said again there are many needs for financing support, climate change is one area, overall development and humanitarian assistance issues are others. Next year, we will have very serious discussions on financing for development issues.

Member States in the General Assembly have been having discussions on this, particularly during the last two years; how we can make sure that when leaders will adopt the future development agenda next year, it will be accompanied with means of implementation. This is a very important and serious subject of discussion at this time.