Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been participating in a series of engagements at the United Nations General Assembly where he is representing the country’s position on a number of pertinent matters including the troubles in Haiti.
Earlier this week, Chet Greene attended a meeting convened by the United States to discuss the situation in Haiti where armed gangs have taken over the capital of the fellow Caribbean country. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken led the discussions at the meeting held under the theme “Building progress to restore peace in Haiti”.
Also in attendance were Greene’s ministerial counterparts from a number of Caricom countries to include Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Belize, Guyana, and those from African, European and Latin American countries.
Addressing a meeting of the G20, a grouping of some of the world’s richest countries, Minister Greene highlighted an omission in their Call to Action on Global Governance Report, saying: “Alarmingly, this call to action contains only a solitary mention of climate change [and] entirely omits references to small island developing states. This must be a glaring oversight, correct?”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also delivered remarks at two other major events – a multi stakeholder panel on the legal dimensions of sea level rise and a crucial side event themed, “United by Water: Securing Our Collective Water Future Amidst Rising Seas and Melting Glaciers”.
Along with Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of the Environment, Sir Molwyn Joseph, Greene also attended a bilateral meeting with Azerbaijan, which will be hosting the global climate summit, COP29, later this year. Both ministers pressed home the needs of island states, especially after the role Antigua and Barbuda played in bringing to life the 10-year framework for small island developing states known as the ABAS.
The Foreign Affairs Minister was also encouraged by the bilateral discussions with the Philippines, and emphasised his eagerness to strengthen ties between the two countries, where shared experiences as island nations could help foster closer collaboration in the maritime sector, renewable energy, and tourism.
