United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has held discussions with two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders, including the chairman of the regional integration grouping, Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
A brief statement issued following the separate round of talks with Santokhi and St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, noted that in the case of the discussions with the CARICOM chairman, “they discussed how to strengthen support to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including through access to and allocation of concessional resources among countries.
“The Secretary-General and the president also discussed the need to bolster efforts to fight climate change and protect biodiversity.”
In his talks with Gonsalves, one of the longest serving leaders in the 15-member CARICOM grouping, the statement said, “the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister discussed global development and ongoing work for the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the need to bolster efforts to fight climate change and increase access to finance by Small Island Developing States”.
Both Gonsalves and Santokhi are among CARICOM leaders who are scheduled to address the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that got started on Tuesday. The regional leaders will begin making their contribution to the debate on Wednesday, ending on Saturday, with the heads of state of Suriname, Guyana and Dominica scheduled to speak on Wednesday.
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