Small Island Developing States (SIDS) continue to be “disproportionately affected” by the adverse impacts of climate change, says President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
He said this during a statement given at the high-level mid-term review of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway multi-stakeholder “Roundtable I: Progress, Gaps and Challenges,” at the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.
Noting that SIDS “cannot graduate from small island status, or the unique circumstances that it encompasses,” Solih said that the SIDS limited resources, geographic dispersion and fragile ecosystems or vulnerability to external economic and environmental shocks “will continue to pose threats to development.”
“Our countries are particularly susceptible to disasters, and we continue to be disproportionately affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, challenging our very existence. It is time we actually made progress on our ‘accelerated modalities for action.’ For this to happen we need our development partners to work with us as equals, allowing us to steer the course for our own sustainable development. We believe that it is important to understand that returns on investments are not always immediate”President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
He further added that the benefits of investing in essential public needs of SIDS “will manifest in greater opportunities, and substantial returns in the long-term opportunities that will arise from peace, stability, and prosperity.”
Also at the meeting, President Solih noted that mid-term review of the SAMOA Pathway is the midpoint of a journey on which the world embarked in 2014; which envisions a sustainable and prosperous future for all SIDS in the face of unprecedented challenges due to the inherent characteristics that form the collective SIDS identity.
President Solih also called for SIDS’ partners and the international community to deliver on the commitments already made in the SAMOA Pathway.
"These have subsequently been supplemented by the Sendai Framework, Addis Ababa Action Agenda, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. These are all instruments that will collectively help guide Small Island Developing States through the journey of sustainable development set out in the SAMOA Pathway. Our goal is to reach our destination by 2025 as envisioned. We, as SIDS, will remain determine crusader in this cause"President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
