St. Vincent and the Grenadines is among 11 countries charged with the responsibility of championing the cause of Small Island Developing States within the Commonwealth. This as the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting ends today in Kigali, Rwanda. On Wednesday June 22, the Commonwealth Ministerial Meeting on Small Island Developing States was co-chaired by Minister of Education Hon. Curtis King, and Hon Mr Vincent Biruta, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Rwanda.
It was attended by 45 Ministers of Foreign Affairs from across the Commonwealth and discussed challenges facing small states, heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic ramifications of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The UN-Commonwealth Advocacy Strategy was launched where Small states can collectively develop policies to build resilience in the face of global external shocks and issues of Climate Change.
The Commonwealth Small States Advocacy Champions also include The Seychelles, Botswana, Guyana, The Maldives, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Kingdom of Eswatini, The UK, Canada and New Zealand.
King said: “It is critical for Small States within the Commonwealth to have access to finance to enable them to confront and mitigate the challenges they face.
A difficulty is posed when access to concessional financing for development is dependent only upon income classification by international financial institutions such as the World Bank.”
St. Vincent and the Grenadines was represented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government by Minister of Finance Hon. Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Education Hon. Curtis King and SVG’s Ambassador to Cuba, Ambassador Ellsworth John.