Summary
This event was presented by the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and the UN Office of Legal Affairs, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS), together with the Waitt Foundation, Waitt Institute, National Geographic Pristine Seas and Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), also with support from The Nippon Foundation and Okeanos – Foundation for the Sea.
The four leaders of GLISPA hosted a high-level reception for heads of delegation, permanent representatives, and heads of organizations. The event aimed to demonstrate the leadership of island countries, coastal states and countries with islands, and to showcase capacity-building efforts and other unique tools to support SDG 14.
The President of Palau, Tommy Remengesau Jr, spoke on behalf of the other three GLISPA co-Leaders – the Vice-President of Seychelles, Prime Minister of Grenada and the Deputy Premier of British Virgin Islands – highlighting culturally appropriate solutions to implementing the SDGs. He called on participants to “step up to make the Palau National Marine Sanctuary look like a small commitment.”
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided web coverage and a briefing note of the GLISPA High-Level Reception. The briefing note is now available in HTML and PDF format.
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Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu UN Under-Secretary-General and High-Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
President Tommy Remengesau Jr., Palau
Miguel de Serpa Soares, UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel
Yōhei Sasakawa, Chairman, Nippon Foundation
VIP Guests
VIP Guests
Front: Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Fiji;
Yōhei Sasakawa, Chairman, Nippon Foundation;
President Tommy Remengesau Jr., Palau; and
Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu UN Under-Secretary-General and High-Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.
Middle: Perla Tun Pech, Mayor, Cozumel;
Miguel de Serpa Soares, UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel; and Deputy Premier
Kedrick Pickering, British Virgin Islands.
Back: Spencer Thomas, Ambassador and Special Envoy for Multilateral Environmental Agreements, Grenada;
Ted Waitt, Waitt Foundation and Waitt Institute; and Vice President
Vincent Meriton, Seychelles.
