Remarks by
Hon. Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi
Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa
at the
Ceremony of the Formal Establishment of SIDSDOCK: Small Island Developing States Island Energy for Island Life
30 September 2015, Room 4, UN Headquarters
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
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Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Samoa is grateful to be a part of this ceremony to formally establish this unique SIDS-SIDS partnership known as SIDS DOCK – and for obvious reasons. The SIDS Statute was opened for signature in Samoa last September during the 3rd UN Conference on SIDS and Samoa is home for the SIDS Dock Regional Office for the Pacific.
Who knew that in just over a year after the Treaty was opened for signature we would be here today welcoming its entry into force?
I commend SIDS who have ratified the Treaty in order for its implementation to begin and encourage other SIDS to do likewise so that this initiative becomes truly SIDS-inclusive.
Through multi-stakeholder partnerships, SIDS DOCK will provide the necessary mechanism to help SIDS pursue the collective action necessary to deal with Climate Change adaptation and mitigation. Samoa is grateful to the Governments and organizations who have supported SIDS during its formative years through sustainable energy projects which have helped to build the SIDS DOCK mechanism.
Excellencies,
The creation of SIDS DOCK is a progressive step forward to encourage genuine and durable partnerships between SIDS and the world. Now that the SIDS DOCK is a reality and it is here to stay, we hope that this will give a level of confidence and assurance to our partners, both developed and developing including NGOs, civil society and the private sector to work with SIDS through this dedicated mechanism. Our partners will no longer have to go through secondary sources or middle men to be able to assist us. And our member states, by extension, don’t have to tailor our project proposals to meet the needs of the different agenies.
Finally, I wish to congratulate the interim SIDS DOCK Secretariat and members of the SIDS DOCK Steering Committee for getting us this far. Having the SIDS Dock Statute enter into force is the easy part. Getting SIDS and our development partners to support the aspirations and goals espoused in the Statute requires much hard work, commitment and dedication. So much is at stake including the credibility of SIDS as leaders and masters of their own destiny. I look forward to supporting SIDS DOCK in promoting ‘Island Energy for Island Life’.
I thank you.
