President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has urged Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to express collective solidarity with the people of Palestine, as the feeling of being helpless, vulnerable and being ignored by the international system is all too familiar.

The Maldivian leader said this while delivering the Maldives’ national statement at the Plenary of the Fourth International Conference on SIDS.

Taking the podium at the event, the Maldivian leader stated that it is about time SIDS stated to believe in their ability to navigate the perils of development.

Stating that the vulnerabilities of SIDS should not be their downfall, President Muizzu highlighted that they should instead, be the armor and rallying call for SIDS.

Shedding light on three ways in which SIDS can look to the international community for support, President Muizzu stressed that the international community must lower borrowing costs and provide SIDS access to credit enhancement measures.

Further, he noted that bilateral partners should seek more creative solutions such as retractable financing, highlighting that the United Nations (UN) system international development organizations and private sector financiers must take a coordinated and cooperative approach.

Urging SIDS to take the lead, the president stressed on the urgency for SIDS to enhance institutions and work jointly with the private sector.

In his opening statement, the Maldivian leader expressed solidarity with Papua New Guinea, following the landslide that took hundreds of lives and wreaked destruction and havoc in its wake.

He further shed the spotlight on the concerning developments in the Middle East.

As such, he stated that Israel is defying the ICJ's order to immediately halt its attack on the Palestinian people in Rafah

“With your permission, I would like to draw attention to the most worrying of developments in the Middle East. As we speak, Israel is defying the ICJ’s order to immediately halt its attack on the Palestinian people in Rafah. We, the world leaders at this Conference, must unite in calling on Israel to stop the war. Stop the apartheid. And stop the genocide immediately.” Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, President of Maldives.

President Muizzu went on to assert that it is time for Israeli leaders to face justice and be held accountable for their crimes.

Stressing that as SIDS, the feeling of being helpless is graspable, the Maldivian leader urged to express collective solidarity with the people of Palestine.

President Muizzu departed to Antigua and Barbuda for the summit on May 24.

During the summit he is scheduled to deliver key remarks at several events and meet with other leaders of SIDS.