Tonga's Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku attended a meeting of the Leaders of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) at the margins of the High-Level Week of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, on 23 September, in New York.
Leaders discussed critical processes and prioritizing AOSIS initiatives to shape future outcomes, the Prime Minister's Office reported today.
The topics addressed included implementing the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), unlocking finance for Small Island Development States (SIDS), leveraging the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI), a new international benchmark that measures structural vulnerability and the lack of structural resilience across multiple dimensions of sustainable development at the national level, and proposed Debt Sustainability Support Service, among others.
Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku noted that ABAS represents SIDS's collective vision for sustainable growth and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges, and implementing it requires innovative approaches tailored to SIDS's unique circumstances.
Sea Level Rise and Statehood
The declaration on Sea Level Rise and Statehood was also adopted during the discussion.
The declaration on the Continuity of Statehood and the Protection of Persons in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise was issued by leaders' of the Pacific Islands Forum last year, in the Cook Islands. It means that the statehood and sovereignty of members of the Pacific Islands Forum will continue despite the impact of climate change-related sea-level rise.
PM Hon. Hu'akavameiliku was accompanied to the meeting by Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet, Mr. Paula Ma’u.
