Sevilla, Spain
Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda,
Honourable Hussain Mohamed Latheef, Vice President of the Maldives,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
It is an honour to join you in this important event, especially with PM Garton Brown, the political advocate for SIDS SDG financing.
Our pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals depends on a global financing architecture that is fair, effective, and responsive in meeting today¡¯s challenges.
The new Debt Sustainability Support Service (DSSS), born from SID4 in Antigua and Barbuda, is an important step in this direction.
Financing is the fuel for sustainable development. Yet, many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are running on empty.
Too often, SIDS are trapped in a vicious cycle of crisis and debt, and are forced to divert scarce resources to recover from climate and economic shocks they did little to create.
When they turn to the international financial system for support, they are met with inadequate options.
Unsurprisingly, SIDS face the largest implementation gap for the SDGs.
But SIDS are leading and responding to this challenge, leveraging new and innovative solutions.
From SIDS4 to FfD4, the political momentum backing the DSSS has culminated its inclusion in the Seville Commitment.
The DSSS has immense potential to become a key component of a strengthened global debt architecture, empowering SIDS to better manage their finances, access tailored solutions, and engage in debt discussions on more equitable terms.
My Department, UN DESA, is fully committed to supporting this critical work.
We are pleased that the proposed governance structure for the DSSS embeds the key pillars of its work within existing IFIs. This approach builds upon and leverages their current efforts while filling existing gaps.
DESA will continue to support the Strategic Advisory Group in building connections between the DSSS and FfD4 follow-up.
DESA is also developing a SIDS-SIDS regional platform for peer-to-peer learning, allowing countries to share successful, innovative debt management strategies. This will support the technical assistance pillar of the DSSS.
DESA looks forward to continuing to support the operationalization of DSSS, contributing to a future of resilience and prosperity for all SIDS.
Thank you.