Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable E. P. Chet Greene has been elected Vice President of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar.
Minister Greene along with a high-level delegation of Antigua and Barbuda travelled to Doha on a fact-finding mission to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and provide guidance to Antigua and Barbuda on hosting a similar global conference, the Fourth United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States (4th SIDS Conference) in the summer of 2024.
Foreign Minister Greene noted the necessity to collaborate and partner with the Government and People of Qatar as an exemplar of their successful hosting of FIFA World Cup 2022 and their demonstration of strong leadership in hosting LDC5. The team was afforded the opportunity to engage with the Secretariat of LDC5 and gained behind the scenes experience associated with hosting the international conference.
Coming out of a bilateral with H.E. Ms. Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, a commitment was made to offer support to the Government of Antigua and Barbudan in hosting the 4th SIDS Conference. Minister Greene expressed his profound gratitude to the People and Government of Qatar for its continued generosity for providing travel and accommodations to the delegation of Antigua and Barbuda at LDC5 and most importantly for its commitment of support towards the 4th SIDS Conference.
The 4th SIDS Conference will bring together world leaders, the private sector, civil society, and youth to generate a holistic approach that will identify challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development and building the resilience of SIDS.
Minister Greene also used the opportunity at LDC5 to hold bilateral talks with the Slovenian
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ms. Tanja Fajon as well as with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece H.E. Konstantinos Fragkogiannis and H.E. Holger Nielsen, Special Representative of the Prime Minister of Denmark.
The bilateral meetings with the European allies focused on improving diplomatic relations with Antigua and Barbuda and addressing current global challenges. Minister Greene expressed his government’s appreciation of the long-standing cooperation between Antigua and Barbuda and the aforementioned countries, and called for greater support to Antigua and Barbuda and other small states as we continue to be negatively affected by climate change, mounting debt and access to concessional financing.
The three European countries reiterated their commitment to Antigua and Barbuda and pledged to
offer increased support in the coming years. Specifically, the Greek Special Representative assured of
his country’s willingness to provide technical assistance for the certification of Antiguan and
Barbudan sailors through the Greek Shipping Registry, one of the largest in the world.
During his five-day visit, Foreign Minister Greene also held talks with high officials from the United Nations including the interim Executive Director of UNOPS who made commitments to support Antigua and Barbuda’s hosting of the 4th SIDS Conference and to provide technical support to Antigua and Barbuda’s national development efforts.
While in Doha, the Antigua and Barbuda delegation actively participated in various meetings and key events. H.E. Dr. Walton Webson, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN, led discussions at an event on the development of a Multidimensiona Vulnerability Index (MVI) where Prime Minister Browne is currently the Co-Chair of the High- Level Panel of Experts on the development of the MVI. Mr. Tumasie Blair, Deputy Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN was elected Rapporteur-General of LDC5 and delivered the report of the Conference at its closing.
Other members of the delegation included Ms. Karen Cabral, Chief Protocol Officer within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Claxton Duberry, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN, Mr. Lance Browne, Consular Officer within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Sheila Roseau, Special Adviser for the 4th SIDS Conference.
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Leadership matters. Thank God for the win of the January 18, 2023 election by a competent set of people.
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