A pioneering initiative emerging from the groundbreaking Antigua and Barbuda
Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) is being positioned to revolutionise how vulnerable
island nations confront one of their most critical economic challenges, the
unsustainable debt burdens brought on by the unending cycle of worsening climate
impacts.
The Global SIDS Debt Sustainability Service (DSSS), a prominent feature of the
ABAS framework, formed the basis of discussions during a side event at the
United Nations held last Saturday in preparation for next year’s 4 th International
Conference on Finance for Development, in Seville Spain. The Government of
Antigua and Barbuda, through its expert team of officials at the Mission in New
York, has been working assiduously over the past several days to ensure that key
ambitions of the DSSS make it to the agenda of the conference, convened to
address challenges in the international financial structure that make it difficult for
many countries to achieve sustainable development.
The event was themed Empowering Resilient Futures: Reforming Financial
Systems and Expanding Investment Pathways for SIDS and Vulnerable Nations. It
was co-sponsored by the Governments of Antigua and Barbuda and the Republic
of the Maldives, drawing on a multi-sectoral approach in defining a new financial
landscape for SIDS.
Besides the focused attention that was applied to the DSSS and how it is
envisioned to solve the debt crisis in SIDS, the meeting also brought special
scrutiny to the impact of credit rating systems on accessing funding for vulnerable
island states.
“The Global SIDS Debt Sustainability Support Service (DSSS) offers a
comprehensive framework to address these challenges by focusing on debt
sustainability, resilience investment, and advisory support,” explained Antigua and
Barbuda’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Tumasie Blair,
the moderator of an engaging fireside chat where key points and ideas around the
DSSS and the financial markets were ventilated.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
Ambassador Walton Webson, was joined by his counterpart from the Maldives, Ali
Naseer Mohamed, at the discussion.
Ambassador Webson acknowledged the challenges and was adamant that cross
sector collaboration that ensures SIDS engages with all players in the global
financial system will be necessary in moving the ideals of the DSSS forward.
