Seychelles leader assumes Presidency of SIDS-DOCK Support Program

Wavel Ramkalawan, the President of Seychelles has taken the leadership of the SIDS DOCK, an initiative among member countries of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) meant to help Small Island Developing States (SIDS) transform their energy sectors and address adaptation to climate change.

Ramkalawan was elected by acclamation on Monday at the seventh session of the organization’s General Assembly, the country’s State-run news agency indicated.

The assembly took place on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

SIDS is made of 39 countries including Singapore, Samoa, Mauritius, Jamaica, and Bahamas. The World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Program (ESMAP) launched the SIDS-DOCK Support Program in a bid to meet the energy transition that the SIDS are confronted with.

In his statement, the African leader said “Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are now in survival mode. We are surviving only because of our enduring resilience, and every day we fight to survive and to exist despite our vulnerabilities. There are no indicators showing that our situation will get any better, therefore, we must put a definitive plan in place to help our young people.”

Ramkalawan’s vision for the SIDS-DOCK program is “building a Plan for Future Generations to Survive and Thrive”, the agency said.

The vision also focuses on the current and future generations of small islands and low-lying developing States and puts forward a plan to help the youth in SIDS to survive and thrive with tools to prosper on a planet adversely impacted by changing climate, long into the future.

This is the second time Seychelles assumes the Presidency of SIDS DOCK. Danny Faure, a former leader of the archipelago in the western Indian Ocean was elected president of the initiative in September 2017 at the third annual meeting of the SIDS DOCK Assembly.