BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -Barbados will host a pioneering global Small Island Developing States (SIDS) hub that is expected to pay closer attention to the peculiar issues and challenges facing SIDS.
From left, Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kerrie Symmonds, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment Chad Blackman, UNIDO Director General Gerd Muller and other officials are all smiles following Tuesday’s signing. (Office of the Prime Minister Photo)It will be established in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
The UNIDO Global SIDS Office in Barbados will act as a hybrid entity, offering the usual services of a UNIDO field office while being promoted externally as a “Global SIDS Hub” to attract donor support and maintain neutrality among SIDS governments. It will also advocate for industrial issues and solutions at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) level and other regional forums.
Speaking at a ceremony to launch the initiative on the sidelines of the first United Nations Global Supply Chain Forum that ends here later on Wednesday, Barbados Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary with responsibility for Climate Change, SIDS and Law of the Sea, Elizabeth Thompson, said the decision to establish the hub here holds profound historical significance given that the venue is where the inaugural SIDS conference had been convened in 1994.
“It signifies a cooperation pact between Barbados and UNIDO. Additionally, it entails the establishment of the SIDS hub here in Barbados, aimed at facilitating information dissemination, knowledge exchange, technical cooperation, and collaboration among diverse SIDS,” she said.
Envisioned as a pivotal global nexus for SIDS, the hub is poised to address the unique challenges faced by small island nations while fostering synergistic partnerships.
Thompson spoke of the personal involvement of UNIDO Director General, Gerd Müller, in initiative.
The UNIDO’s executive director also heralded the inception of a new era of cooperation through the SIDS hub, affirming the organisation’s commitment to bolstering technological transfer and support across vital sectors to fortify SIDS’ resilience and sustainability.
“We just agreed about this in some very important sectors, not only here for Barbados, for the whole SIDS, all SIDS countries, especially UNIDO. We offer technology transfer, knowledge and research transfer, and concrete support in several sectors,” said Müller.
In her address, Thompson welcomed the appointment of Stein Hanson to spearhead the Barbados office, citing his extensive UNIDO experience and profound insights into the region.
“Stein Hanson’s appointment underscores our commitment to leveraging expertise and familiarity with the region,” she said, heralding Hanson’s capacity to seamlessly integrate into the role.
“This hub will play a pivotal role in addressing these challenges,” the barbados diplomat said, noting SIDS’s susceptible to climate change and the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley welcomed the establishment of the hub as a seminal stride towards economic resilience, expressing profound gratitude to Müller for the strategic decision.
“We are committed, in a world that requires us to become far more resilient than we have been, to be able to establish an ecosystem where that kind of industrial production can start again… and to recognise that, if we see the world as our market, wherever it is possible for us to secure that market, then we offset the debilitating aspect of limited population size,” she said.
Mottley acknowledged the collaborative efforts that underpinned this milestone and expressed optimism for the future outcomes of the agreement, underscoring Barbados’ pivotal role in advancing global SIDS initiatives and fostering international cooperation.
