Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef has reaffirmed the Maldives’ support for the Global Development Initiative (GDI), calling for stronger cooperation among developing countries to address shared development challenges.
The Vice President made the remarks at a high-level meeting on the GDI hosted by China on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Vice President welcomed China’s continued efforts to advance the initiative and stressed the importance of partnerships that help developing countries tackle persistent development challenges.
He highlighted the longstanding development partnership between the Maldives and China, saying it had contributed to the Maldives’ national development.
The Vice President also warned that unsustainable debt was limiting countries’ ability to invest in climate resilience and other development priorities.
He highlighted the particular vulnerability of Small Island Developing States to climate change and called for stronger implementation of global climate commitments.
With the COP31 climate summit approaching, Vice President stressed the need for commitments to be translated into meaningful action.
He also highlighted the role of science, technology and innovation, including artificial intelligence, in advancing sustainable development.
The Vice President called for greater international cooperation in capacity-building, technology transfer and knowledge-sharing, particularly to ensure developing countries can benefit from emerging technologies.
He concluded by calling for greater solidarity among developing countries to build a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future.