United Nations (UN) Under Secretary-General and High Representative, Ms. Rabab Fatima (left), Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka [Source: Fiji Government/ Facebook]

The United Nations Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, Rabab Fatima, arrived in Suva this morning for an official visit.

Fatima has met with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and will also join Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Secretary-General Henry Puna later this week to sign the CROP-UNCT Principles for Dialogue and Engagement for greater collaboration between Member States and strengthened overall partnership.

The UN Under Secretary General says the purpose of her visit is to strengthen global UN action on the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and to champion Pacific priorities for the 4th International Conference for Small Island Developing States.

She says these two purposes are inherently connected.

Fatima says that while the 2050 Strategy charts the course for the Pacific region’s sustainable development based on the region’s unique strengths and challenges, the SIDS4 Conference aims to drive a new decade of partnerships and solutions to supercharge SIDS’ path to resilient prosperity.

She was appointed as the High Representative in 2022 and is responsible for supporting LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and their respective programs of action adopted by global consensus.

Fatima will also facilitate dialogues with Pacific representatives, CROPs, CSOs, and the diplomatic corps around the upcoming SIDS4 Summit next month.