Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs Aupito William Sio has been appointed by the United Nations and Commonwealth as Aotearoa New Zealand’s advocacy champion for Small Island States.
Minister Sio says, “Aotearoa New Zealand as a Pacific country is particularly focused on the interests of Pacific Small Island Developing States in our region.
This is a mission to get the global community to support these states, and to strengthen their resilience, especially around the pressing issue of climate change.”
Minister Sio says he looks forward to working alongside other advocacy champions to highlight international action on small states’ priorities.
“If you ask Pacific leaders – what is the biggest security and economic threat to our region, they will universally say: it is climate change. Aotearoa New Zealand stands with the Pacific on climate change.
We will strengthen Pacific island countries’ long-term environmental, economic, social and climate change resilience through our partnership. So I want the international community to work with small states to do the same, as these are all long-standing priorities for Pacific island countries,” says Minister Sio.
