Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good afternoon.
Resilience is the reason why Small Island Developing States from across the world are gathered here today in Antigua and Barbuda.
Despite our small size, SIDS are demonstrating remarkable resilience. We may be among the most vulnerable, but our unwavering determination makes us formidable fighters in the battle against climate change.
I was elected as President of the Maldives last year, with a clear vision to steer my people and my country towards self-reliance, and to build our resilience to address new and emerging, domestic and global challenges.
Climate change is one of those challenges - as it has been for many decades.
For years now, we have been asking the global community to stand with us in solidarity and join us in this fight. Because we may be the first and the hardest to be hit, but we will not be the only one.
We are in a climate crisis. Our actions must match the crisis at hand. And we must take action now.
I am encouraged by the will of the international community to take ambitious climate action.
But business-as-usual will not do. Small-scale, incremental progress will not achieve the 1.5 degrees target.
Infact, the science cannot be clearer. The IPCC has already warned that the 1.5 degrees goal is increasingly becoming out of reach. At best, we are headed towards a 2.5 degrees goal, this century. And at worst, a 3 degrees world.
For a country like the Maldives, and many SIDS like us, these projections represent a threat to our well-being, our economies.
Excellencies,
The Maldives spearheaded the Climate Smart Resilient Islands (CSRI) Initiative to address the urgent climate crisis at hand.
This is an initiative that connects SIDS and our development partners. It harnesses inter-regional collaboration between SIDS, utilizing our unique geographies, streamlining development efforts through peer learning across our islands.
It was developed with key salient features integral to the resilience of our island communities, linking sustainable development goals and climate action.
Done right, this initiative can deliver a holistic approach to the adverse effects of climate change. This is what we wish to deliver, not just for the Maldives, but also for all SIDS that have joined the CSRI initiative.
This project looks beyond SIDS regions and towards more tangible collaboration amongst all SIDS.
This kind of inter-regional collaboration among SIDS could be a beginning of a new dawn. I encourage accredited entities to listen to our key concerns, to engage with us on the solutions we are pioneering and champion us as we move forward.
Let me take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to our delivery partner, GIZ, whose support ensured this event was possible today. This work would also not be possible without the readiness assistance from the Green Climate Fund.
Distinguished guests
I can assure you of one fact: islanders are resilient, and islanders want to be able to live, and live well on our islands.
I call and encourage other SIDS to who have not joined this initiative yet to partner with us to help safeguard our future,
by supporting initiatives that will bring about realistic solutions,
by moving beyond incremental progress towards transformational adaptation,
and by enhancing the well-being of our island communities.
United in our efforts, we shall navigate uncharted waters and discover new horizons.
I thank you.