Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has highlighted the “devastating effects” of Covid-19 on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) who “often rely on a single industry for national income”.

The minister highlighted this in a statement at the Online Summit level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Contact Group in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, held on Monday. Minister Shahid represented the Maldives at the meeting, on behalf of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The online summit “United against Covid-19” was convened under the chairmanship of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliye.

In his statement, Shahid elaborated on the steps taken by the Government of Maldives in responding to the ongoing pandemic, as well as the “devastating effects” the virus has had on the Maldivian economy.

He stressed the SIDS such as Maldives “are inherently vulnerable to external shocks and often rely on a single industry for national income”, and added that the Maldives “will suffer a major loss in income due to the global shutdown of tourism resulting in a huge revenue gap for the year 2020”.

Hence, the foreign minister called on the Non-Aligned Movement “to draw international attention towards the vulnerabilities of its smaller members, particularly by highlighting the need for a moratorium on debt which is detrimental to achieving sustainable development”.

He also reaffirmed that the smaller members of NAM “rely on the Movement to mobilise support and call for long-term action from larger states” and further stressed on the importance of “strengthened cooperation during times of adversity”.

Minister Shahid also expressed gratitude towards Maldives’ development partners, “especially those from the South Asia region” for their support in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, the minister also pledged Maldives’ support for NAM’s decision to establish the Non-Aligned Movement Task Force to combat Covid-19, which he noted is “a key outcome” of the Summit.

The NAM Task Force will act as a conduit for Member States to submit their basic humanitarian and medical needs which will then be shared with donor countries, international organisations and private entities to mobilise support and assistance.

Minister Shahid also pledged Maldives’ support for the World Health Organization (WHO) in leading the global public health response, as well as other international and regional organisations.

He concluded his statement by stressing that the world “will prevail only by working together in cooperation with all partners and stakeholders” and called for a unified response to the pandemic.