Activities of Secretary-General in Samoa, 30 August-1 September
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, flew on Saturday, 30 August, from Bali, Indonesia, to Apia, Samoa, to attend the third Conference of Small Island Developing States.
On Sunday, 31 August, the Secretary-General visited communities displaced by climate change in the village of Si’upapa, with the Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi. There, he was conferred the title of Tupua — or Chief — before holding a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, during which they discussed the priorities of the Conference and the challenges facing small island developing States.
The Secretary-General then participated in a High-level Dialogue of the Private Sector Partnerships Forum. He stressed that there can be no collective action without partnerships and said that the private sector can drive innovative solutions for small island developing States. (See Press Release SG/SM/16110.)
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General held bilateral meetings with Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados, and James Michel, President of Seychelles, and participated in the Handong Global University Samoa Forum, on “Capacity-building in Higher Education, Entrepreneurship, Energy and Water for Achieving Sustainable Development in the Small Island Developing States”.
He later attended the Cultural Opening Ceremony of the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States.
On Monday, 1 September, the Secretary-General addressed the opening session of the Conference. He welcomed the SAMOA Pathway, the outcome document of the Conference, as a guide, and said that by addressing the issues of small island developing States, we are developing the tools we need to promote sustainable development across the entire world. (See Press Release SG/SM/16113.)
The Secretary-General then sailed on board Hokolue’a, a full-scale replica of a wa’a kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe. This boat is currently on a worldwide voyage to promote sustainable development and the protection of oceans.
In the afternoon, the Secretary-General gave a press conference. He called for the full implementation of the SAMOA Pathway, on issues like rising sea-levels, climate change and cooperation with small island developing States, and said that the United Nations system as a whole would be accountable for that.
He then participated in two High-level side events, the first one of the Chief Executives’ Board of the United Nations system, the second of the Sustainable Energy for All Forum, on “Linking SIDS and SE4All: From Barbados to Samoa, and Beyond”. (See Press Release SG/SM/16112.)
Lastly, the Secretary-General met with Zhang Yesui, Special Envoy of the President of China to the SIDS Conference, before departing Samoa for Auckland, New Zealand.