Minister for Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology in Saint Lucia, Hon. Dr. James Fletcher, has been invited by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to speak on the sustainable development challenges of small islands in the Caribbean at the 34th FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The conference will be held tomorrow, in Mexico City.

As part of its 34th Regional Conference, the FAO has convened a special event titled “Challenges of Small Islands in the Caribbean: Addressing the SAMOA Pathway outcomes.”

The SAMOA Pathway is the development agenda for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which was adopted at the third International SIDS Conference in Apia, Samoa in 2014.

Hon. James Fletcher led Saint Lucia’s delegation to the third International SIDS Conference and also chaired the regional Task Force that was established by CARICOM Heads of Government to coordinate the region’s participation in the Samoa Conference.

Dr. Fletcher is expected to address the FAO Conference on the environmental components of the SAMOA Pathway and the convergence of the SAMOA Pathway with the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Third Financing for Development Outcome and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.