National Statement by Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke at the Summit of the Future 2024, Sunday, September 22, 2024

I greet you warmly,

Years ago, one of the most celebrated calypsonians of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mr. Konris Maynard (who also happens to be our Hon. Minister of Energy and Water) asked our nation in his song: “2020” if we were waiting blindly for 2020.  I now pose this question: are we waiting blindly for 2030, or will we act now to save people and the planet?
This Summit of the Future is our moment to pivot into a survivable tomorrow, presenting an opportunity to pause and reflect on our collective histories, and recalibrate our course towards the shared goals of equity, justice and self-determination as promised in the UN Charter. This is a space to rebuild trust as stated by His Excellency, the Secretary General. 
Saint Kitts and Nevis commends Namibia, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Jamaica, Sweden and Zambia for their leadership and co-facilitation of the Pact for the Future.  
This Pact signals a future that delivers on existing ambition and capitalizes on emerging opportunities including:
The rapid implementation of the Multi-Dimensional Vulnerability Index 
The mobilization of Loss and Damage Resources 
 Actioning the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS and the continued advocacy for the Bridgetown Initiative
Small island states grapple with the poly crises of biodiversity loss, plastic pollution and climate change and accompanying challenges of food insecurity, and threats to our health and national security. 
The future we deserve demands deep-rooted change that is transformative and lasting.  For this we must:
 Redefine multilateral partnerships

Promote unbiased international systems that honour the strength, resilience, and tenacity of small islands, systems that respect and include all our voices and 

prioritize the needs of those most vulnerable: women, youth, the elderly, indigenous and rural populations. 
Let us ground decision making with the critical assessment of global historical patterns of disempowerment and exploitation which constituted progress for a few and underdevelopment for many. 
This new contract has the much-needed potential to reimagine small-island capacity. For centuries our islands fueled the global economy, it is time for all to prosper regardless of size.
We must alchemize our common vulnerabilities, into engines of innovation, protection, and lasting peace.  
To build on this ideal, our government presents the Sustainable Island State Agenda which embodies the fulcrum of our 41 years of progress. Through seven crosscutting pillars, including Water Security and a Just Energy Transition, we have prioritized acceleration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainability.
Truthfully, our isolated action is a but a drop, but every drop counts toward strengthening and improving multilateral action. In this vein, I invite all island nations to the May 2025 Global Sustainable Island Summit being hosted by Saint Kitts and Nevis in partnership with Island Innovation. 
Let us convene to continue driving actions and concretizing commitments for our shared survival.

And as we engage this Summit, let us anchor ourselves in its Pact and the accompanying Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations, being ever mindful of the need to reframe sustainability through the lenses of justice, equity, inclusivity, and peace. 
Mr. President, every year the international community convenes to repeat, “now more than ever,” but truly this is the now that islands have feared more than ever. 
Saint Kitts and Nevis will harmonize our human existence with the nature. Transparent, urgent action now is our duty and the outcomes, the birthright of the future. Let us deliver a world fit for prosperity and survivability where peace abounds – peace with nature and peace with humanity. 

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