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BVI and UN Collaborate to Boost Development Finance for Eastern Caribbean Governments
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the United Nations (UN) are working together to enhance the access of several Eastern Caribbean governments to development finance for sustainable development and climate resilience.
This collaboration was highlighted during a recent ‘Policy Dialogue on Improving Access to Development Finance in Eastern Caribbean Overseas Territories’ hosted by the BVI Government and co-Chaired with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean (RCO) ahead of the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) in Antigua and Barbuda from from May 27 – 30.
According to a May 20 government statement, talks focused on the governments of Anguilla, BVI, and Montserrat and other Eastern Caribbean Overseas Territories, which are striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, but currently do not qualify for certain types of financing.
Nearly eighty participants from fourteen UN agencies, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the UK Government, the Aruba Government, and the Governments of Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat attended the event.
They focused on the challenges faced by these territories due to their limited access to concessional financing, grants, and climate finance, which hampers their efforts to build sustainable and climate-resilient societies.
Speaking on the success of the Policy Dialogue, BVI Representative to the UN in Latin America and the Caribbean Special Envoy Benito Wheatley stressed that “This was a very important step in the collaborative efforts by the BVI, UN and other development partners to unlock the development finance needed by Eastern Caribbean Overseas Territories and other SIDS for their sustainable development and climate resilience. There is much more work to be done to address this issue if we are to successfully adapt to climate change, achieve the SDGs by 2030, and leave no one behind. The BVI will continue to advocate on behalf of the Associate Members of the UN regional commissions.”
Participants emphasised the high vulnerability of Anguilla, BVI and Montserrat to external shocks such as hurricanes, noting that this vulnerability should be a significant factor for international donors, development partners, international organisations, and development banks when considering eligibility for development finance.
Other funding sources discussed included green finance (such as green and blue bonds), private climate finance, adaptation finance, and blended finance.
At the end of the meeting, participants also pledged to strengthen advocacy efforts at regional and international levels to secure such access.