President Of The General Assembly In Palau To Highlight Climate Change Mitigation, Partnerships

New York, 12 April – The President of the UN General Assembly, H.E Abdulla Shahid, is undertaking an official visit to the Republic of Palau until Friday, 15 April, to stand in solidarity with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on issues of climate change and sustainable development.

The President’s visit is timed with the 7th Our Ocean Conference, hosted by H.E. Surangel S. Whipps, Jr., the President of the Republic of Palau, and by John Kerry, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in the United States of America. President Shahid will on 13 April address the Conference, which this year is focusing on the theme, “Our Ocean, Our People, Our Prosperity.” This is the first year that the Conference is being hosted by a Small Island Developing State.

On 12 April, President Shahid participated in the SIDS Global Business Network Forum. The theme of the forum is ”Private Sector Ocean Partnerships and Sustainable Development in SIDS”. The President underscored the importance of partnerships being able to address the unique SIDS challenges and are sustainable. These were among the messages that came out of the High-level thematic debate on Climate Change, which the President convened in the UN General Assembly in New York in October 2021, and will be among the messages to the High-level thematic debate on “Moment for Nature” on 19 July 2022. The panel was moderated by Mr. Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. It was organized by the Government of the Republic of Palau and the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UNOHRLLS).

While on the archipelago, President Shahid will meet with the students of the Palau High School Science Club in an interactive dialogue. President Shahidwill also be joined by Dr. Dale Jenkins, Palau’s Minister of Education, to hear from young students about their thoughts on climate change and efforts to stymie its impacts.

The President will also interact with Bilung Gloria Gibbon Salii, and other women community leaders, to discuss issues such as culture and tradition, non-communicable diseases, and environmental protection issues, among others.

Apart from meetings with the hosts, President Shahid will also meet with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga Hon Hu’akayameiliku, and other senior dignitaries from Governments in the region. He also had a bilateral meeting with UN Resident Coordinator Jaap van Hierden, who is responsible for UN operations in the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

The President is accompanied by three members of his Office. All costs associated with the visit are paid for by the Office of the President of the General Assembly’s Trust Fund.

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