Your Excellency, Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the General AssemblyYour Excellency, Mr. Mohamed Shainee, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Republic of MaldivesYour Excellency, Ms. Silvia Velo, Under Secretary of State, Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection, Italy Your Excellency Mr. Ahmed Sareer, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations. Your Excellency Mr. Sebastiano Cardi, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations
Ms. Fekita Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to join you today at the second annual Global Multi-stakeholder Small Island Developing States Partnership Dialogue.
The SIDS Partnership Framework, of which this meeting is an integral part, is a key outcome of the SAMOA Pathway, the blueprint for achieving sustainable development in SIDS. The Framework, and the Steering Committee, were formed to follow up on sustainable development commitments, showcase best practices, and identify new challenges to full implementation.
I would like to commend Maldives and Italy for co-chairing the Steering Committee on SIDS Partnerships, a crucial aspect of the organization of this meeting, and for keeping the Spirit of Samoa alive and well.
The committee itself represents a truly global partnership, open to all Member States of the UN and members of the specialized agencies. It includes representatives from islands, and developing and developed nations around the world, as well as the UN System and other stakeholders.
Such an arrangement could also serve as an important model for maintaining accountability in other processes.
I am also gratified to see that at the UN, partnership is in full action. I am joined here by Ms. ‘Utoikamanu, the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, and I would like to congratulate her once again on her appointment to head OHRLLS.
Excellencies,
This second SIDS Partnership Dialogue being held during the Ocean Conference, is an important input into the Conference. In fact, this very afternoon the Ocean Conference Partnership Dialogue 5 will be held on “Increasing economic benefits to SIDS and LDCs and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets”.
The Ocean Conference is crucial to all, but more so for SIDS, as the protection and restoration of the health, productivity and resilience of oceans and marine ecosystems is closely interlinked to the achievement of all other Sustainable Development Goals for SIDS.
As many SIDS are custodians of large ocean and sea areas, they are at the forefront of the global efforts to ensure the successful implementation of SDG 14.
This Dialogue has a specific focus on Ocean partnerships for SIDS, and aims to galvanize commitments among, and for, the SIDS partnership community.
One of the main outcomes of the Ocean Conference is a list of voluntary commitments for the implementation of SDG 14 - from all stakeholders, covering all SDG 14 targets and ocean basins of the world.
To date, an impressive number of over 930 voluntary commitments have been announced for the Ocean Conference. Many of these commitments are from SIDS. Many others are benefitting SIDS. This is a true testament that the partnership approach adopted three years ago in Samoa works, and is really the only pathway to future sustainability – across SIDS regions and indeed across the world.
As this session and this important Ocean Conference draws itself to a close, I wish to assure members that your call for analysis of existing partnerships is well on target. It is vital that this exercise is carried out to ensure that we keep good track of the vitality of the partnerships we established.
We stand ready to work with you all to facilitate and support your efforts towards sustainable development through genuine and durable partnerships.
I wish you a fruitful meeting.
Thank you.
Ms. Fekita Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to join you today at the second annual Global Multi-stakeholder Small Island Developing States Partnership Dialogue.
The SIDS Partnership Framework, of which this meeting is an integral part, is a key outcome of the SAMOA Pathway, the blueprint for achieving sustainable development in SIDS. The Framework, and the Steering Committee, were formed to follow up on sustainable development commitments, showcase best practices, and identify new challenges to full implementation.
I would like to commend Maldives and Italy for co-chairing the Steering Committee on SIDS Partnerships, a crucial aspect of the organization of this meeting, and for keeping the Spirit of Samoa alive and well.
The committee itself represents a truly global partnership, open to all Member States of the UN and members of the specialized agencies. It includes representatives from islands, and developing and developed nations around the world, as well as the UN System and other stakeholders.
Such an arrangement could also serve as an important model for maintaining accountability in other processes.
I am also gratified to see that at the UN, partnership is in full action. I am joined here by Ms. ‘Utoikamanu, the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, and I would like to congratulate her once again on her appointment to head OHRLLS.
Excellencies,
This second SIDS Partnership Dialogue being held during the Ocean Conference, is an important input into the Conference. In fact, this very afternoon the Ocean Conference Partnership Dialogue 5 will be held on “Increasing economic benefits to SIDS and LDCs and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets”.
The Ocean Conference is crucial to all, but more so for SIDS, as the protection and restoration of the health, productivity and resilience of oceans and marine ecosystems is closely interlinked to the achievement of all other Sustainable Development Goals for SIDS.
As many SIDS are custodians of large ocean and sea areas, they are at the forefront of the global efforts to ensure the successful implementation of SDG 14.
This Dialogue has a specific focus on Ocean partnerships for SIDS, and aims to galvanize commitments among, and for, the SIDS partnership community.
One of the main outcomes of the Ocean Conference is a list of voluntary commitments for the implementation of SDG 14 - from all stakeholders, covering all SDG 14 targets and ocean basins of the world.
To date, an impressive number of over 930 voluntary commitments have been announced for the Ocean Conference. Many of these commitments are from SIDS. Many others are benefitting SIDS. This is a true testament that the partnership approach adopted three years ago in Samoa works, and is really the only pathway to future sustainability – across SIDS regions and indeed across the world.
As this session and this important Ocean Conference draws itself to a close, I wish to assure members that your call for analysis of existing partnerships is well on target. It is vital that this exercise is carried out to ensure that we keep good track of the vitality of the partnerships we established.
We stand ready to work with you all to facilitate and support your efforts towards sustainable development through genuine and durable partnerships.
I wish you a fruitful meeting.
Thank you.
File date:
Wednesday, June 7, 2017