1 September 2011 :- The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives H. E. Mr. Aslam Mohamed Shakir attended the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Interregional Meeting on 1 September 2011 in New York City. This meeting was a preparatory meeting for the Rio+20 International Development Conference, aimed at securing a renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assesses the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development and address new and emerging challenges.
The purpose of the SIDS interregional meeting was to provide an opportunity for member States to coordinate positions and strategies in preparations for the global negotiation process, with a view to ensuring that the unique perspectives, priorities and concerns of SIDS are effectively highlighted and reflected throughout the Rio+20 preparatory process.
H.E. Ambassador Dessima Williams, The AOSIS Chair from Grenada, chaired the meeting, which was attended by approximately forty SIDS delegates from both capitals and New York-based Missions to the United Nations.
During his intervention at the inter-regional meeting, State Minister Shakir highlighted the importance of the different regional groups within AOSIS (PSIDS, AIMS and CARICOM) being able to appreciate and take on board the views and issues of significance to each other, in order to successfully lobby for these issues with the larger groupings in the international community whose interests may differ from that of SIDS.