Archive for category: News

The Maldives has assumed the Chair of the UN Save Our Sharks Coalition. The Maldives assumed the chairmanship at a function held in New York this afternoon. The Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr. Mohamed Shainee, accepted the chairmanship on behalf of the Maldives, from the outgoing Chair, the Ambassador of the Bahamas Ms Sheila Carey.

While speaking at the ceremony, Minister Shainee stated that the Maldives is honored to accept the chairmanship of the Shark Coalition and expressed hope to bring even further attention to the plight of sharks around the world and the steps that must be taken to ensure that socio-economic assessments carried out in the Maldives revealed it was more beneficial for the economy to preserve sharks and keep them as a continuous resource to be observed and enjoyed by tourists.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Asim, discussed the important role of partnerships, leadership and innovation by Small Island States (SIDS) in responding to Climate impacts and planning for sustainable futures, at the meeting organized by AOSIS, in partnership with the European Union and UNDP, this morning.

During Minister Asim’s key note speech as the Chair of Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), he reflected on the importance of partnerships for SIDS and stated that the support provided by the partners have facilitated the expansion of capacity of Small Islands to engage in international negotiations on climate change and sustainable development. He further highlighted broadening engagement by AOSIS to issues of critical importance to SIDS such as conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and seas.

The purpose of today’s meeting was to provide a platform before the COP23 to acknowledge and showcase the leadership and innovation coming out of Small Island Developing States.