Activities of Secretary-General in Saint Lucia, 3-4 July

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Saint Lucia from New York in the early afternoon of Wednesday, 3 July.

After seeing some of the island, including the volcanic spires known as the Pitons he was met at Rodney Bay by the Prime Minister, Allen Chastanet.  The two held a bilateral meeting in the car that transferred them to the opening ceremony of the Fortieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).  There, he delivered remarks, where he praised Caribbean countries for their leadership in tackling climate change.  He also expressed the United Nations commitment to help these countries access financing, so that they can continue addressing this issue and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  (See Press Release SG/SM/19653.)

Following the ceremony, he had dinner with the CARICOM Heads of State and this was followed by informal tête-à-têtes with some of the leaders.

The next day, the Secretary-General held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg.  The Secretary-General expressed strong support for the Norwegian facilitation initiative on Venezuela.  He called on all parties in Venezuela to avoid any actions that might increase tensions in the country and undermine the facilitation initiative.  (See Press Release SG/SM/19654.)  He also met the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness.

On Thursday morning, the Secretary-General went to Praslin Bay to see the effects of sargassum seaweed in the area.  He was accompanied by Saint Lucia’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Education and Gender Environmental, Gale Rigobert.  During his visit, he heard from fishermen about how sargassum has affected their livelihoods. He also heard from local entrepreneurs who have found ways to use the sargassum and clean the bay.

The Secretary-General departed for New York in the early afternoon and arrived in New York that evening.