Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley in her capacity as Chair of the SDG Advocates making a presentation at the annual meeting on Saturday while United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres and other officials, listen attentively. (Prime Minister’s Office)
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley attended several key engagements over the weekend and today, as world leaders gathered for discussions on pressing issues ahead of the General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters, Midtown Manhattan, New York.
On Saturday, September 20, in her role as Chair of the SDG Advocates, Ms. Mottley participated in the SDG Advocates annual meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres at UN Headquarters.
The SDG Advocates are 17 inspiring, influential people raising global awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the need for accelerated action.
Prime Minister Mottley stressed the importance of the SDGs being part of the conversation in a country’s development agenda.
In the next engagement, she held wide-ranging talks with Professor Senait Fisseha, a globally recognised leader in reproductive health and Vice President of Global Programmes at the Susan Thompson Foundation, and Dr. Tom Frieden at the Barbados Mission’s Office in Manhattan.
Some of the topics discussed were the Debt for Social Resilience Swap, strategies to improve primary care for patients with hypertension, and a revamped community nursing programme.
Ms. Mottley also received a signed copy of Mr. Friedan’s book entitled The Formula for Better Health – How to Save Millions of Lives Including Your Own.
The following day, Sunday, September 21, was a proud moment for Prime Minister Mottley when she was invited to sign the climate change soccer ball by a 15-year-old high school student from California, Ismachiah Oduwole, at The Fifty Sonesta Hotel, in Manhattan.
In a lighthearted exchange, Ismachiah recounted how it all started. When he found out that he was going to the FIFA 2022 World Cup Football Finals in Qatar, he decided to take a soccer ball with him and came up with the idea to get people to sign the ball in support of climate change.
“And I got people from over 28 different countries to sign my climate ball, like Brazil, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Tunisia, and many, many more. So, when these people sign my climate ball, they pledge to do something to prevent climate change,” Ismachiah shared.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and 15-year old high school student from California, Ismachiah Oduwole, posing for a photo after she signed the climate change soccer ball, at The Fifty Sonesta Hotel, in Manhattan yesterday. (Prime Minister’s Office)
He said he has another soccer ball with the signatures of CEOs of major companies and some leaders, including President of Guyana, Dr. Mohammed Irfan Ali, who have all committed to preserving the planet.
“The reason why I want you, Madam Prime Minister, to sign my ball is because you and your country, Barbados, are doing a great job of making a carbon negative programme from water-security conservation to renewable energy transitions and sustainable tourism, and I want to thank you for all the great stuff that you are doing,” he said.
Impressed by the initiative, Ms. Mottley stated: “Let me say, as I get ready to sign it, how thoroughly impressed I am with your sense of purpose and the dream that you’ve exhibited from such a young age, because it is your world that we’re trying to save.
“It is a planet that has to sustain your generation and the ones to follow you, and the fact that you have not only understood the mission, but you are now acting in pursuit of saving the planet, is what makes it so special.”
Other engagements at the bilateral level included those with President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Raj Shah; and Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonja-Iwela.
Ms. Mottley participated in the Global Africa Business Initiative High-Level Panel from Vision to Action: Scaling Caribbean Prosperity through Partnerships and in an Intergenerational Dialogue session where she engaged Founder of the Society of Renewable Energy in Indonesia, Zagy Berian, and Attorney-at-law and activist from Jamaica, Christina Williams. Both events were held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Broadway.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Mottley and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kerrie Symmonds, attended a high-level event on the Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti. They held joint and separate meetings with several officials, including Executive Director of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, and participated in a High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Establishment of the UN.
Author: Julie Carrington
Source: https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/blog/prime-minister-mottley-attends-key-engagements-in-new-york/
