Small Islands Developing States and the Global Value Chains: Opportunities and Challenges
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| Welcoming Remarks by the Hon. Minister
Panel discussion on “Small Islands Developing States and the Global Value Chains: Opportunities and Challenges” Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests, I am very pleased to welcome you to this event today whereby we are marking the beginning of activities in Mauritius to commemorate the International Year of Small Island Developing States. It is important today that we recall that in December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly took a decision to mobilise international interest on the uniqueness of Small Island Developing States and to build up momentum as we approach the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States scheduled to be held from 1 to 4 September 2014 in Apia, Samoa. This is the first time that a group of countries was given such recognition as to have an international year. We trust that SIDS will receive the strong support and commitment from the international community and our development partners for their sustainable development. As a small island striving to become a High-Income Country, we are conscious of the hurdles we face due to our unique developmental challenges. The remoteness from our main markets, our small size and limited resources are some of the factors which put us at a disadvantage economically and prevent economies of scale. Coupled to these are the increasing negative impacts of climate, our unique vulnerability to natural disasters, the damage to our ecosystems as well as the turmoil of the global economic and financial crises. Twenty-two years have already gone by since the "special case for environment and development' of SIDS was first acknowledged at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. The world has also witnessed two International Conferences on Small Islands Developing States, with the last one being hosted here in Mauritius in 2005. We have implemented to a large extent the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) adopted in 1994. We have also been very committed in implementing the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation (MSI) at the domestic level as well as in advocating SIDS issues at regional, multilateral and international levels. The National Report of the Republic of Mauritius for the 3rd International Conference on SIDS published last year highlights that there has been substantial progress in areas such as biodiversity protection and the establishment of terrestrial, coastal and marine protected areas. Although some progress has been achieved, yet gaps still remain in achieving the full implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) and the Mauritius Strategy for implementation (MSI). The limited access to financial and technical resources has limited Mauritius in its ability to mobilise the necessary funding and technical expertise to fully implement the BpoA and the MSI. Like most middle-income SIDS, Mauritius does not have access to appropriate preferential treatment, concessionary financing, sufficient Official Development Assistance flows and other special programmes owing firstly to the lack of formal recognition of SIDS and secondly to criteria that do not recognise our unique vulnerabilities. Now, as we commemorate the International Year of the SIDS, I believe it is crucial for all of us to join our hands together to highlight the efforts put in by the SIDS to overcome our unique challenges, to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of SIDS and to recognise our contributions to the global community. It is also the time to meet our challenges and close the gaps by leveraging our strengths through a more coherent, coordinated and collaborative approach to sustainable development amongst ourselves and with our partners including the United Nations. This panel discussion organised by the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Trade, under the aegis of my Ministry, on “Small Islands Developing States and the Global Value Chains: Opportunities and Challenges” will brainstorm on issues which are of prime importance to us all and is also intended to be the first of a series of activities to mark the International Year of SIDS. I would wish to invite each and every one of you to take the initiative within your respective Ministries and organisations to celebrate the International Year of the SIDS. Let us all commemorate 2014 as the International Year of the SIDS. Thank You Directory: English English -> Chaos equipment included English -> Protecting the rights of the child in the context of migration English -> United Nations E/C. 12/Esp/5 English -> Form a-122 File No. Retirement homes act, 2010 application under section 116 of the act English -> The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine English -> 1. 2 Extraction of exposure and others parameters English -> 【Education&Working Experience】 English -> Tourist Areas Haiti, another discovery English -> Active Vocabulary Download 11.46 Kb. Share with your friends:
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