St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—The Federation’s ambassador to the Organisation of American States, Jacinth Henry-Martin, has outlined St. Kitts and Nevis’s plans for sustainable development.
Speaking during a recent sitting of the OAS, Henry-Martin expressed the Federation’s appreciation for discussions with permanent observers aimed at streamlining development efforts and building productive partnerships through the regional body.
“St. Kitts and Nevis comes to this conversation with a national plan in place known as SISA, Sustainable Island State Agenda, which sets out where we want to be by 2040. And we are already investing our own limited resources in renewable energy, water security, climate-smart agriculture, resilient housing, health infrastructure, and the circular economy. So for us, the conversation is about how partnerships can help us move more quickly from ambition to implementation to realisation. We see considerable potential for SEDI to serve as a matchmaker, identifying member state priorities, mapping the expertise and cooperation instruments available among permanent observers, and bringing us all together around concrete, measurable projects. What we need most is help in closing the implementation gap. And that does not always mean financing. It can mean access to technology, specialised technical expertise, project preparation, institutional partnerships. And where financing is required, finding innovative and appropriately structured instruments that work for small developing states.”
Henry-Martin also addressed concerns over the use of GDP per capita to rate developing countries, arguing that the measure does not always provide a complete picture of a country’s development needs.
“We would ask our partners to look beyond per capita income when assessing need. It bears repeating that for small island developing states such as St. Kitts and Nevis, a single external shock can have an economy-wide impact, while the per capita cost of building resilient infrastructure is disproportionately high. That is why the multidimensional vulnerability index is so important. We want our partners to understand with us that vulnerability must form part of the development conversation alongside income. There is a very practical matchmaking role that SEDI can play. We know our priorities. Permanent observers know the expertise, technologies, institutions, and cooperation instruments they can offer. SEDI can help put these two sides of the equation together. A member state with a clearly identified need, and a partner with the capacity to respond, and help take that relationship through to an implementable project.”
She also stressed that conversations about sustainability must go beyond the circumstances of individual countries, and take into account the realities facing developing states more broadly.
“This is entirely consistent with the meeting’s intention to translate cooperation into practical benefits and concrete partnerships. While I’m here to speak to the interests and the needs of St. Kitts and Nevis, and the rate of progress we wish for a sustainable island state agenda with the help of our partners, my delegation also acknowledges that much of what can be done ought to consider action beyond individual countries to what can be done regionally. Finally, Chair, perhaps we can make the OS development process itself more agile. A shorter distance between identifying the need and delivering the solution would, for countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis, be a very meaningful outcome of this conversation. My delegation reiterates its appreciation for today’s conversation and expresses its thanks.”
Jacinth Henry-Martin is St. Kitts and Nevis’s ambassador to the Organisation of American States.
