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

Special Event at the
Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development

Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
Fellow Ministers,
Heads of International and Regional Organizations,
Colleagues and Friends,
It is my honour to open this High-Level Meeting on Financing for
Development of Small Island Developing States, convened as part of the
Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development here in the
beautiful city of Sevilla.
On behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), I extend my
sincere thanks to our co-convenors—the Office of the High Representative
for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and
Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS), the United Kingdom, the
OECD, and UN DESA, for their partnership and commitment to advancing
the development priorities of Small Island Developing States.
Excellencies,
SIDS are often called the canaries in the coal mine because we are among
the first to feel the tremors of an outdated international financial
architecture. And the truth is: the current architecture is not designed to
serve SIDS. It is not responsive to special and unique circumstances that
we face.
Despite our small size, SIDS manage nearly 20% of the world’s ocean. We
protect biodiversity and critical ecosystems and contribute significantly to
global sustainability. Yet we remain locked out of the very financial
resources needed to fulfill this responsibility, whether it is climate or ocean
finance, concessional financing, or access to preferential borrowing terms.
At the Fourth International Conference on SIDS, the international
community adopted the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) as
our forward-looking blueprint for our resilient prosperity.
And this is why we welcome the Compromiso de Sevilla, which represents
a renewed commitment to reform and inclusivity in global financing.
The Compromiso de Sevilla speaks to the need to reform international
financial institutions, to enhance access to concessional financing, and to
improve representation for vulnerable countries like ours. It recognizes the
importance of tools such as the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, the
urgent need to scale up climate and ocean finance, address the debt
sustainability of SIDS and the operationalization of mechanisms like the
SIDS Debt Sustainability Support Service.
And yet, much of what the ABAS and the Compromiso de Sevilla asks for
has already been asked before, many times. What we need now is
implementation. What we need now is commitment. What we need now is
partnership.
Today’s meeting is an opportunity to change that.
We gather today not just to repeat our calls, but to forge real solutions that
turn pledges into progress. Let us have a frank and honest discussion that
gives way to reform so that the international financial architecture reflects
the world we live in, reflecting all voices.
I encourage all delegations to seize this opportunity.
Let us move forward with urgency, with unity, and with the unwavering
conviction that Small Island Developing States do not stand alone.
Thank you.