On the margins of the 2022 Effective Development Cooperation Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, Ambassador Walton Webson, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations in New York, paid a courtesy call on Ambassador Boris Latour, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations Office in Geneva,and Ambassador Colin Murdoch, Permanent Observer of the Permanent Delegation of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva.
Ambassadors Murdoch and Latour welcomed Ambassador Webson to Geneva and were eager to discuss key strategic priorities for Antigua and Barbuda at the multilateral organisations based in Switzerland.
Topping the country’s agenda was the desire for a more active role for in the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In recent years, Antigua and Barbuda’s role and prominence in global matters has increased significantly.
Having served as the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), hosting the OECS Assembly, and now preparing to host the UN’s Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in St. John’s has brought Antigua and Barbuda significant global attention.
As the Ambassadors provided each other with updates on their work, Ambassador Webson emphasised Antigua and Barbuda’s lofty undertaking to host the 4th SIDS Conference in 2024.
Its success will require an all-government approach and forging new partnerships.
In this regard, Ambassador Latour renewed his commitment to supporting the Permanent Mission in New York.
He further proposed greater coordination between the two offices to ensure that Antigua and Barbuda’s interests are widely represented and advocated.
Ambassador Murdoch, meanwhile, said Antigua and Barbuda remains a prominent and influential member of the OECS and voiced the Government of Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to strengthen the voice of the subregion on critical issues at the WTO through his office in Geneva. He believes that coordination between the OECS, Capitals and International Organizations could strengthen representation in the European theatre.
Ambassador Latour was recently appointed in October 2022 as the Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations Office in Geneva. He brings a wealth of experience in renewable energy, information technology, real estate, hospitality, agriculture, and finance.
Present at the courtesy call with the Ambassadors were Timothee Bauer, Deputy Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations in Geneva, Joel Richards, Senior Technical Specialist, Permanent Delegation of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, and Javier Spencer, Adviser, Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations in New York.
