- Gonsalves to Hold Meeting with UK Minister for Caribbean Affairs Ahead of G77 Summit
St. Vincent’s Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, will depart the country later this evening to attend the G77 conference in Kampala, Uganda, from January 21 to 23.
Gonsalves stated on Wednesday that, as a small island developing state (SIDS), St. Vincent and the Grenadines remain a special instance of exceptionalism in the pursuit of sustainable development due to the nations unique and specific vulnerabilities.
“These include our small size or remoteness and relatively narrow resource and export base, external economic shocks and exposure to the global environment, and environmental challenges, especially the large range of impacts from climate change and more frequent and intense natural disasters.”
Gonsalves stated that these concerns are existential for the Caribbean island and necessitate collaboration with other SIDS states.
“We have to have cooperation among each other as SIDS, and we have to have cooperation with like-minded countries in the South, developing countries, and our interface with developed countries, so it’s vital that we put our marker and, most importantly, our role as pro tempore president of CELAC. We have particular kinds of arguments to make in respect of peace, global security, prosperity, and sustainable development for all of humanity, not just a handful in a small group of countries in the rich north.”
Gonsalves will meet with the Minister for Caribbean Affairs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London on Thursday before leaving for the summit.
The Gonsalves delegation consists of foreign minister Keisal Peters, the island’s permanent representative to the United Nations, and a security officer.
Gonsalves first visited Uganda as a graduate student 52 years ago, where he completed his thesis on Uganda’s political economy.