Barbados has been selected as the home for a pioneering global Small Island Developing States (SIDS) hub, 30 years after a landmark conference here first brought global attention to island nations’ peculiar issues and challenges.
The hub is to be set up in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The announcement was made during a signing ceremony at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre on the sidelines of the two-day inaugural United Nations Global Supply Chain Forum.
According to Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson, the move holds profound historical significance as the venue where the inaugural SIDS conference convened in 1994. Thompson, who was instrumental in developing the project, explained that the new agreement is twofold. “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 noted the personal involvement of UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller in this initiative, highlighting synchronicity with the upcoming fourth international UN SIDS conference in Antigua, building upon the groundwork laid by the April 1994 Barbados conference.
She also announced 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 added, heralding Hanson’s capacity to seamlessly integrate into the role.
With SIDS being susceptible to climate change and the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19, the establishment of the hub assumes paramount importance in catalysing economic activity and job creation. “This hub will play a pivotal role in addressing these challenges,” the environment envoy said.
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.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley praised the establishment of the hub as a seminal stride towards economic resilience, expressing profound gratitude to Müller for the strategic decision. Emphasising the imperative of economic diversification, Mottley underscored Barbados’ commitment to nurturing an ecosystem conducive to industrial rejuvenation.
“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.
The prime minister 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.
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.
