A major meeting of the 16 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the
Caribbean began this week, here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to
assess development progress and agree on priorities for next year’s
United Nations conference on SIDS in Antigua and Barbuda.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Keisal Peters during the
opening session of the meeting emphasized the importance of data
collection, saying that readily accessible date proves invaluable in
making significant strides.
“Another challenge we face and one where we can look inwardly in
charting our way forward is that of data collection and data sharing in
assessing our progress towards our sustainable development goals. Data
collection is an area we must improve upon, as readily accessible data
proves invaluable in making significant strides. If we are to accurately
measure our progress, improve on implementation and monitoring and
evaluation, we must have the relevant data, and even better, data owned
and driven by SIDS,” Minister Peters said.
Minister Peters during her address applauded the Government of
Antigua and Barbuda for leading the charge towards the establishment
of a centre for excellence which promises to be a great aid to SIDS
where relevant data can be accessed and used to enhance actions and
initiatives taken by SIDS.