ON the margins of the recent World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Washington DC, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet met with a delegation from the Pacific Islands Forum headed by Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, the Attorney-General and the Minister for Economy, Civil Service, Communications and Climate Change of Fiji. Cristelle Pratt, Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum was also in attendance.
The discussion focussed on the fact that Small Island Developing States (SIDS) needed to collaborate on the development of a SIDS Resilience Facility that could provide an avenue for SIDS to address their climate change resilience development agenda. This especially considering the reality that current financing mechanisms, do not adequately address the specific needs of small developing countries vis-à-vis resilient infrastructure. It was agreed that SIDS collaboration in multilateral fora was critical going forward, as there appears to be a lack of attention and respect towards the position of SIDS within the International Finance Institutions.
The Prime Minister’s delegation included Guy Joseph, Minister for Economic Development, H.E. Anton Edmunds, Ambassador of Saint Lucia to the US; and Dr Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS.