PM urges world to pay attention to challenges of small nations

Prime Minister Mia Mottley has again sent a clear message that the world ought to pay attention to the plight of small island states.

Mottley, who is in Los Angeles attending the ninth Summit of the Americas with representatives of other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, declared that she wanted the world “to see, hear and feel us”, during a joint media briefing with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday.

The two leaders co-chair a United Nations Special Advocate Group on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mottley said talks on the SDGs are critical.

She made it clear that her focus during the June 6-10 Summit is to ensure the world understands the crisis facing small states and at least make an attempt, through dialogue, to tackle those problems head-on.

The Barbadian leader identified the existential climate crisis, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, antimicrobial resistance which renders life-saving medications and treatments ineffective, and the soaring cost of fuel and food being driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine, as major challenges for small states.

“Bob Marley would say, ‘So much trouble in the world’,” she said, quoting a popular song of the late reggae legend.

“We don’t expect things to change immediately, but what we expect is fairness, what we expect is transparency, what we expect is that just as we want to see people here, we want people to see,

feel and hear us as well. We can come together and make a difference through the conversations that we have.”

Meantime, Trudeau noted concern that the SDGs have been under threat but insisted they must remain a priority.

“We know that those sustainable development goals faced a significant setback because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, but at the same time they have become more important than ever before in terms of moving forward,” he said.
(SD)