Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Aminath Shauna, has stated that steps need to be taken to make it easier to create policies for long-term ocean-based economies.

Minister Shauna made the statement at the interactive dialogue 5 entitled "promoting and strengthening sustainable ocean-based economies, in particular for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries" at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference, on Tuesday.

Speaking at the dialogue, Minister Shauna highlighted the importance of finalizing the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index that considers the multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), large ocean states, and Least Developing Countries (LDCs). She said that steps need to be taken to make it easier for these states to create policies that would help strengthen long-term ocean-based economies.

The Minister also stressed the vulnerability of SIDS, especially in the case of the Maldives. She expressed that the Maldives’ sustenance, livelihoods, and means of income are linked to the oceans, with 60 per cent of its GDP derived from the ocean. She noted the responsibility of today’s leaders to protect our natural endowment and to pass on the beauty of the oceans to future generations.

Minister Shauna is attending the conference, held in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1, 2022, as the special representative of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.