President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has called for the urgent need for easier access to financial assistance to help small island nations achieve new heights in development. He made the remarks speaking at the High-Level Meeting on Resource Mobilisation for SIDS held on the sidelines of the SIDS4 conference.
"Net external resource inflows to SIDS have been on a declining trend over the past two decades, this is despite the international community making promises to increase development and climate financing for SIDS in Samoa in 2014, in Paris in 2015, and now here in Antigua with even more ambitious promises" said the President.
He highlighted the critical need for extraordinary levels of financing at concessional terms for SIDS to escape the middle-income trap, continue climbing to the next level of development, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"Many SIDS, including the Maldives, have graduated from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) category, but this graduation has come with a hefty price tag," said President Muizzu. "The cost of borrowing from bilateral creditors has increased with shortened maturities, worsening our fiscal situation, forcing us into high levels of indebtedness, and lowering our credit ratings."
Since graduation, the average economic growth rate has slowed, access to affordable finance has become restricted, and the climate crisis has forced SIDS to make impossible choices. He stressed that external concessional financing is crucial for constructing sustainable, smart, and climate-resilient public infrastructure, which is vital for attracting foreign direct investments, especially for export-dependent SIDS like the Maldives.
President Muizzu proposed three solutions to enable easier access to finance for SIDS and accelerate progress towards the SDGs: reform the international financial architecture, scale up private finance flows and think big and build capacities.
He called on development partners to view SIDS not just as recipients of aid but as partners in sustainable development. "It is only through genuine partnerships, with mutual respect and trust, that we can ensure finance is directed and mobilized to where it is needed the most," he concluded. "And in that long line of countries that need assistance, SIDS will be among the top."