High-level Meeting on Financing for Development for Small Island Developing States

Special Event at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development
30 June 2025

Excellencies, colleagues, friends,
As we bring this High-Level Meeting to a close, allow me, on behalf of
AOSIS, to express our deep appreciation for the meaningful engagement
and solidarity shown here today.
We came together in Sevilla with a shared purpose: to move beyond
rhetoric and into action that delivers real, measurable progress for Small
Island Developing States.
And today’s discussions have reaffirmed what we have long known: that
the international financial architecture must evolve to serve the realities of
all countries, including SIDS.
Throughout this meeting, we heard concrete proposals: from increasing
access to concessional financing and leveraging the use of the
Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, to advancing the SIDS Debt
Sustainability Support Service and scaling up climate and ocean finance.
We also welcome the many reaffirmations of support for the Antigua and
Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, and for the Compromiso de Sevilla, not merely
as commitments on paper, but as our collective efforts to reform the
international financial architecture that for too long have underserved our
countries.
Together, we must move forward with clarity and deliberate action, not for
the sake of charity, but for the sake of equity and solidarity. A seat at the
table. A voice that is heard. An architecture that recognizes our
vulnerabilities and supports our aspirations.

To our partners, thank you for your support. But we ask you to stay with us
for the long haul. The real test lies ahead. Success will not be measured by
what we said here today, but by what we do after we leave this room.
Let us move forward with renewed urgency, with deeper partnerships, and
with the shared understanding that the fate of SIDS is the litmus test for the
world’s commitment to sustainable development and international
cooperation.
Thank you all for your participation and your dedication. Let us continue
this journey together.