Meeting of the Steering Committee on Partnerships for Small Island Developing States entitled "From VNRs to Partnerships: Accelerating SDG Implementation in SIDS"

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today at the Steering Committee's Partnership for Small Island Developing States, our side event, which we will be looking at action in VNRs, from VNRs to partnerships. On behalf of Belize and as co-chair of the Steering Committee on Partnerships Small Island Developing States, together with Portugal. I'm very pleased to welcome you here today. I also want to extend our appreciation to UNDESA and OHRLLS for their support in preparations for convening this event, as well as to their teams and to our own teams who worked very diligently in bringing this all to fruition. Let me also extend our gratitude to the delegations of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guinea-Bissau, Jamaica, and the Marshall Islands, who will be sharing their experiences this morning. For SIDS, the Voluntary National Reviews are more than just a reporting exercise. These are national stocktakings that bring together public institutions, civil society, young people, the private sector, and development partners around a shared assessment of where implementation stands, and where it must accelerate. Several of this year's reviews, including those of our panelists, are second or third reviews, which gives us an unusually clear basis for comparing what has changed since the last cycle and what has not. Read together, this year's SIDS VNRs point to a set of recurring themes. Structural exposure to climate shocks continues to test even the strongest gains. A reminder that development progress in SIDS remains reversible in ways it is not elsewhere. Narrow economic bases, whether built on a single export crop, tourism, or fisheries, leave limited room to absorb external price and climate shocks. The bottlenecks we have heard about before, namely data and statistical capacity, fragmented coordination, constrained fiscal space, and the translation of national priorities into financeable programmes continue to shape how quickly findings become results. What is encouraging is that this year's reviews also document real solutions which merit closer attention. St. Kitts and Nevis' LIFT programme has moved social protection from a welfare model towards one that pairs cash support with skills training, While the Marshall Islands has gone a step further, launching ENRA, a nationwide quarterly cash transfer for all resident citizens, among the first programs of its kind. Jamaica's review sets out a multilayered disaster risk financing architecture anchored in legislation and complemented by a resilience pricing tool developed with regional and international partners that Jamaica itself describes as adaptable well beyond its own borders. And in Guinea-Bissau, the review is candid about the data constraints it still faces, including in tracking gender-related indicators. And about the institutional reforms it is putting in place, including its first multi-year expenditure framework to close that gap. These are the kinds of practical, transferable experiences that make peer learning valuable— not a comparison of who's ahead, but a shared record of what has actually worked under real fiscal and capacity constraints. This is also why cross-regional exchange matters. The bottlenecks and the innovations visible in the Caribbean reviews echo closely in this year's Pacific and in our Atlantic Africa reviews as well. Strengthening the channels for South-South and triangular cooperation among SIDS subregions so that an approach tested in one area can be adopted in another. This is squarely the purpose of today's discussion. This is precisely where the Steering Committee on Partnership for SIDS can add value. The committee exists to carry forward the requests, offers, and partnership ideas that emerge from exchanges like this one, translating them into concrete follow-up through future Partnership Labs, the Global Multistakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue, the SIDS Global Business Network, and the Island Investment Forum in support of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS. I therefore encourage all of you to be specific and solutions-oriented in the discussion that follows, and let us use this exchange to identify practical lessons, actionable partnership ideas, and areas where stronger cooperation can help SIDS turn the findings of their VNRs into implementation results. I thank you, and I look forward to a very productive discussion. I now give the floor to my fellow co-chair, Ambassador Marie-Christine of Portugal to deliver opening remarks. Over to you.

Thank you. Thank you, Janine, fellow co-chair. Good morning to all of you. I'm very happy to see such a critical mass in this room in a day with so many events under the auspices of the HLPF, so it's really a good sign and quite rewarding for us. That are promoting this event. A few very short and brief remarks, just to say that the premise of this meeting is straightforward. The value of VNR should not be measured only by quality of the report presented at IJLPF. Its full value lies in what follows. A VNR can help to build national ownership, strengthen coordination, identify gaps in data and capacity, and bring governments, communities, and partners around a shared understanding of national priorities. But this requires a deliberate transition from review to implementation. My country has also experienced this firsthand. Our 2023 Voluntary National Review helped us identify remaining gaps in policy integration, institutional coordination, stakeholder participation, and the availability of sufficiently granular data. The findings of the review subsequently informed the preparation of Portugal's National Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2030, adopted earlier this year. For us, the central lesson was that the VNR is most useful when it is treated not as a final product, but as part of a continuous cycle of review, prioritization, implementation, monitoring, and renewed review. We are here today, however, above all to listen to the experience of SEEDS. The national reviews being presented this year provide valuable evidence of progress, but also of persistent structural constraints, including limited institutional and statistical capacities, fragmented data, difficulties in mobilizing financing, and the continuing need to align external support more closely with nationally defined priorities. Today's discussion asks several practical questions on concrete national implementation, on how can SIDS benefit more from peer learning, and on what role can partners play after the HLPF. So our objective is not to have another reporting exercise. It is to identify useful lessons, concrete requests, and potential partner offers, and to consider which of these could be taken forward through the Steering Committee future partnership labs and relevant SEEDS partnerships and investment platforms. So we look forward to a candid, practical, and SEEDS-led discussion. I thank you very much.

We will now proceed to hear presentations from the Secretariat. I will first give the floor to Ms. Tania Vaturi of the Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Ms. Guthrie?

Thank you very much. Thank you to our distinguished co-chairs for laying out the purpose of the meeting. I think it's very clear and very helpful. What I'm here today to speak to you about is an overarching look at the BNRs and how they can be very instrumental in achieving the goals that these partnerships seek to undertake. So, I am with UNDESA, and I work on the BNRs overall throughout the year. We support member states in preparing the BNR presentations and the reports here at the HLPF. But the purpose of this meeting is to look at how these VNRs can help SIDS to build a bridge from the process of conducting a VNR to the more important work on the ground doing implementation. And as we've heard, the VNRs are really a tool. They are not an end in themselves. They allow for countries to think about how to realign their institutions, how to work in cross-ministerial ways that are new and innovative, to look at pathways for implementing the SDGs using drivers of innovation, technology, and stakeholder participation, which is really critical and key in the VNR process itself. Of course, this is also true for partnerships, and especially so in SIDS. Now, overall, we can see that after 10 years, we have a wealth of data and information contained in these VNR reports. And at UNDESA, we find this very helpful. All of the reports in our database at this time, at the end of this HLPF, we will have 437 VNR reports. 88— excuse me, 68 of those will be from SIDS countries. Most countries have presented now at least one time, with many having presented 2 or 3 or even 4 times. Here is a snapshot of the SIDS countries that have presented since 2016. And you can see from this table quite a few have prepared 2 or 3 VNRs. And in fact, the 7 SIDS countries reporting this year at the HLPF are reporting for the second and third time. So you don't really need me to tell you how important and how interesting this process can be because many of you have already been involved in preparing a VNR. And for this we thank you because it's important for the global community to learn from SIDS. And what have we learned? So, after 10 years of reporting, some of the key lessons that are emerging from these VNR reports are, as our co-chairs have already mentioned, they are forward-looking roadmaps. They are a process that can serve as a catalyst. So, in the beginning, let's say, when countries weren't sure about what is the VNR, what do we need to do, It was more focused on baseline data and thinking about how to align the efforts of ministerial offices or institutions or stakeholder groups around a common whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach to implementing the SDGs. But now this process has sort of transformed into a larger force that can improve national development plans, It can help with policy coherence, and it can also serve to leverage the energy of the stakeholder groups that want to be involved in the government side of preparing a VNR report. So, as we've seen over the years, VNRs are becoming more inclusive. They are also becoming more evidence-based as national statistical offices make a strong effort to increase their ability to gather data. Many VNRs now contain statistical annexes that can be very helpful in underpinning the policy-setting work that's going on through the government. And in connection with this, localization is also critical for an effective VNR report. It needs to have the buy-in of the local communities, and so voluntary local reviews are now part and parcel of the VNR process in many countries. So, why does this matter for SIDS? Well, I think that SIDS are a special case. The VNRs can not only be a tool to assess progress, identify gaps, and mobilize these partners in partnerships such as this one, but the stocktaking exercise, the dialogue, and the follow-up can translate into very specific SIDs-appropriate policies that can be applied across the board, whether it's within the regions or across SIDs themselves. And what makes them useful is that they can be inclusive and evidence-based and linked to the decisions that countries can take. So, one piece of advice that I would give to any country preparing a VNR is to plan early. Use the data that exists, but more and more we are seeing that informal data, nontraditional data sources can be used in the VNR itself, and engaging well with targeted stakeholder consultations can be helpful to support the data collection in this regard. Then linking these decisions to the budget, to policy projects and partner support is something else that the VNR can help SIDS to do. So, the practical aim would be to reduce the reporting burden as well, while increasing the ownership and the implementation value. One thing we always hear from not only SIDS, but also LDC countries, is there are too many reporting mandates, too many requirements under different frameworks. We have the ABAS now, which is 80% aligned with the SDGs, but the VNR can still serve as the overarching mechanism for reporting on many different processes. And as our co-chairs have already mentioned, the bottlenecks— we list a few here, but climate change is a big one. Political instability is another one. Data systems, coordination, financing, and stakeholder engagement can all be also challenges. And one of the things that I expect that you will do here today is to share some of those challenges, and to come up with ideas about how to overcome them. So the follow-up opportunity that you have is that this steering committee can help keep the momentum going by capturing requests of SIDs, offers, and concrete ideas for follow-up and cooperation, not only for VNR, through the HLPF website. And we invite you to get inspiration from these reports. And we thank you all for being here today. We have 3 SIDs reporting today, so I have to apologize for, leaving to go to Conference Room 4 to help support those countries' presentations, and I thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Ms. Vettori. Thank you for elaborating why we need the VNRs and how they can be useful for SIDS in accelerating implementation of our respective sustainable development agendas. I now give the floor to Mr. Damian Sass, Sustainable Development Officer in the Small Island Developing States subprogram of the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States. Over to you, Damian.

Thank you, Madam Co-Chair. Good morning, Excellencies and colleagues. So, I'll focus really on 3 issues or 3 areas. The first is I'll share some key messages from last week's VNR Lab, the SIDS VNR Lab that was organized by OHRLS. DESA, the SIDS that are presenting VNRs this year, as well as ESCAP and ECA. Secondly, I'll draw some linkages to our work on the SIDS National Focal Points, and then thirdly, I'll make some connections also to the upcoming SIDS Global Business Network that's happening in the Maldives next month. So, in terms of some of the key messages that came from last week's VNR Lab, And we've heard also Tania stressing some of these points. The first is that reporting should support implementation rather than create an additional burden. So, there was broad agreement that the ABAS monitoring and evaluation framework should not become a parallel reporting exercise, because many of the framework's targets and indicators overlap with the SDGs, the VNR process provides really a practical entry point to reporting on both agendas through existing national processes. Indeed, Ambassador Webster's opening remarks at the VNR Lab, he also stressed this point, that the value of the ABS-M&E framework lies in its alignment with existing agendas Besides the SDGs, of course, the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and others. One other key message that came through was that alignments must begin early and be embedded in national planning. So ABAs should be considered from the outset when countries establish their VNR roadmaps, their consultation questions with stakeholders at the national level, and also their institutional arrangements. SGAP, for instance, proposed integrating ABAS-VNR roadmaps, linking the 2 agendas with national development plans, climate frameworks, and other national processes. I think the broader lesson here is that these instruments should reinforce each other, and that reporting informs planning, budgeting, resource mobilization, etc. We also heard a lot at the Lab last week around the constraints that countries face as far as data is concerned. They continue to face gaps in data availability, in quality, in the timeliness and disaggregation of data, as well as shortages on financial constraints, technical and human constraints as well. We heard from DESA on their practical guide for evidence-based VNRs that they're putting together. And the ABAS database that's being developed by the Stats Division that will also provide an easy-to-navigate tool for visualizing SIDS data. And indeed, I think I would also go further here and also stress the importance of the SIDS Global Data Hub that's being developed under the SIDS Center of Excellence as also one of these platforms that can reinforce the the gaps that countries are facing as far as data is concerned. We also heard from countries, for instance, Guinea-Bissau shared lessons learned on the value of a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach that they used to develop their VNR this year, and really the benefits of engaging with civil society, with the private sector, and other actors at the national level. We also heard from Saint Kitts and Nevis. They shared the experiences that they had using the voluntary local review approach, and very similar to Guinea-Bissau, and sort of the lessons learned around engaging communities right from the outset. So, I think a really clear message here is that we're seeing a lot of best practices already coming from SIDS. And as Tonya mentioned, there are already 68 VNR reports from SIDS that we really can capitalize on going forward. And so, I think one consideration for the Steering Committee as it prepares for this year's Global Multistakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue is how we can draw on this wealth of knowledge, both in terms of challenges that SIDS are facing, but also the opportunities that are emerging through VNRs. Moving quickly now to the SIDS National Focal Points, they really can play an essential role in connecting the VNRs and ABBA's monitoring and evaluation process. They really sit at the intersection of national planning, of inter-ministerial coordination, and indeed, many SIDS National Focal Points also happen to be the SDG National Focal Points. There's a clear synergy there that we can capitalize on. OHRP is developing a SIDS National Focal Points toolkit to help SIDS National Focal Points to mainstream ABAS at the national level. Coming out of discussions that we've been having from last week's VNR Lab and going back to the last SIDS National Focal Points meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in December, we'll also be integrating in that toolkit support for helping NFPs to mainstream the VNR process into that— into the ABS monitoring and evaluation framework process as well. In terms of upcoming events, and I mentioned the SIDS Global Business Network Forum that's coming up in the Maldives on the 23rd to 25th of August, certainly from our side, we'll be taking forward a lot of lessons that we've captured through the VNRs. We've heard, for instance, Tonga, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cabo Verde, and Jamaica identify like concrete energy transition and financing needs as major priorities. Indeed, these are actually the types of issues that we'll be discussing at the forum, and we'll be making sure that we also leverage the voice of the private sector and how we can support these. Kader Bassoum emphasized economic diversification and greater domestic value addition. We also heard— we know that Marshall Islands, in their VNR, is demonstrating how seed finance and business training and support is supporting women entrepreneurs, for example, while Jamaica highlighted blended finance, digital skills, and blue economy opportunities that they've been working on. We hope that we can also feature this at the SIDS Global Business Network Forum. Just a final point here that all SID governments are being sponsored to attend the forum, and we hope that you can also bring the lessons learned through the VNR process into that discussion as well. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Damian. As an old hat on SID's agenda, I must say that it sounds as though, with the Abbas M&E framework, We are at a turning point for SIDS, including in many different ways, not only in terms of the alleviating reporting burden, if this can be integrated into the full reporting cycle for VNRs in relation to the 2030 Agenda, but certainly even going further with other platforms outside of the HLPF. This is really tremendous, and I'm very excited, therefore, to now turn to one of the main features of today's event, As indicated in the program, we will have 2 panels. The first panel will hear from Small Island Developing States experiences, and it will be moderated by Mr. Sai Navoti, Chief of the Small Island Developing States Unit of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. I wish to extend appreciation to Mr. Navoti for agreeing to do this moderation for the first panel, so I'll turn the floor over to you and retire early.

Thank you kindly, Madam Co-Chair. A very good morning to you and good morning, Mr. Co-Chair. Good morning, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues. It is my pleasure to moderate this first panel discussion on VNR. We've heard the scene setter that the VNRRs can be more than just a report presented during HLPF. They serve as national moments for stocktaking, dialogue, and follow-up, helping countries identify gaps, strengthen coordination, engage stakeholders, and mobilize support around priority needs. Now, for us Small Island States, This is especially important. The BNR process is taking place in a context of limited administrative capacity, data constraint, financing gap, and very high exposure to external shocks. But it also offers us an opportunity to connect to national SDGs priority and with the implementation of our own agenda, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS. With the broader work and also with the broader work of our SEEDS Partnership framework. Now, this morning, we are going to hear from 4 countries representing VNR, and we are particularly keen to hear 3 issues. First, the practical lessons that emerged from their exercise, their preparations for the VNR. Second, we've heard from the co-chairs the bottleneck that exists and how they overcome it in their preparation. And third, how can the Werner findings help generate follow-up for partnerships, peer learning, and the implementation of the HLPF? So today it is my pleasure to introduce the members of the panelists. We have with us Ambassador John Silk, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Marshall Islands to the United Nations. We are very happy to have you, sir. We also have Ms. Cyrilita Dorrett-Thyssen, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sustainable Development of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Welcome to New York, ma'am, and thank you very much for leading that effort in Saint Kitts. We also have Mr. Francisco Mendez, The Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Guinea-Bissau. Thank you very much for agreeing to join us, Mr. Mendes, and of course, Ms. Latoya Clarke, the SDG Focal Point, National Planning Institute of Jamaica. Welcome, ma'am, to New York. So let me start reminding our panellists, you have about 6 minutes, 6 to 7 minutes, to make your intervention. So I would like to ask 2 general questions, noting the 3 issues that we would like to hear and learn from you, because those will be the lessons that we would like to draw out of this discussion. But please share with us 2 key lessons that your country learned this time around in this preparation as compared to the earlier one that you did. and what has worked well and the bottlenecks and how you overcame it and how can you build on this for partnerships. So let me first invite His Excellency Mr. John Silk from the Republic of Marshall Islands.

Thank you and good morning to all of you, Excellencies. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Steering Committee.

The Marshall Islands presented its 3rd VNR last Friday, although our Naju-based delegation and minister had to depart. We can briefly summarize the VNR presentation and also, more importantly, reflect on how to take this forward. Our 3rd BNR is centered on our National Strategic Plan 2020-2030, which serves as our national development framework and is structured around 5 thematic pillars, namely: 1, social and cultural; 2, environment climate change and resilience, infrastructure, economic development, and good governance. The VNR was developed through a collaborative process which brought together our government, civil society, communities, and youth, reflecting a whole-of-society approach to implementation and accountability. I can note a few quick highlights of our VNR through this year's themes. For SDG 6, clean water and sanitation, we highlighted new reservoir and coastal aquifer work to boost water security. For SDG 7, renewable energy, we referenced low-carbon transport and our national NDC. For SDG 9, infrastructure, we pointed to telemedicine and digital infrastructure and connectivity advances. For SDG 11, sustainable communities, we pointed to the need for climate-resilient infrastructure and community-led conservation area Thank you. To consider some of the guiding questions for today's discussion, most importantly, what are bottlenecks in preparing VNRs? For the Marshall Islands and many SDCs, SDS, SIDS, the challenge is data, both in land ministry collection and data analysis. Our data capacity is limited and there are often disconnections between our data and those used at regional or international levels. The complexity of the SDGs is also a bottleneck itself. A VNR report is both comprehensive but, when tightly summarized among 193 member states, we might find that some of the most unique or important strategies or issues can get lost in the highlighted reel. It would be interesting to speculate about the number of SDG targets or indicators per capita. In other words, our small system can struggle to keep pace and identify priorities or gaps given the large amount of data. What an incentive for development or partnership relate to the— what is the incentive for partnership for development related to VNR? First, the confidence internally and externally of meeting a high benchmark of national plan link and aligned with the SDGs and our review therein. The small scale of our country and economy means we need to pursue unique island-led strategies at community scale. While perhaps more routine elsewhere, it is no easy task for a small government to link and measure up to such an array of complex data points to track progress. Second, in areas where we can demonstrate strong traction in our VNR, we can often point to ground-level solutions which have a strong implementation impact. These can be lessons learned for ourselves and our partners. We thank you.

Thank you.

I thank His Excellency for his contribution and the identification of the 5 pillars of focus of the Republic of Marshall Islands and the SDGs, the 4 SDGs you mentioned, and also identifying those bottlenecks and how you wiggle your way out of it, and the sentiments you've expressed about this process in general. So thank you very much. I will now move to Ms. Tyson, Saint Kitts and Nevis. Now, Saint Kitts has used its second VNRR now to demonstrate progress under the Sustainable Island Agenda that you have, your National Development Planning Framework 2023 to 2037. Now, your approach, from what we've seen so far in your VNRR, Illustrate how a seed-specific national vision can bring together social inclusion, environmental sustainability, economic diversification, and resilience. My question to you, ma'am, and you can respond to this with other things that you wish to tell us, we would like— we are learning, we are hearing. What partnership and financing model supported this achievement, and could elements of that model be relevant to other island states?

Thank you very much. Chair, Excellencies, colleagues, greetings. It is indeed a pleasure to participate in this important discussion and to share a few reflections from St. Kitts and Nevis as we complete our 2nd VNR. Rather than speaking about the findings of our review, which will be presented later today, I would like to reflect on a slightly different angle of the experience. I would like to share what surprised us. Like many countries, we began this process expecting that the principal outcome would be another national report documenting our progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Instead, we discovered that the process itself became one of the most valuable outcomes. Our first surprise was the extent to which local perspectives strengthened national reporting. In 2025, the Nevis Island Administration completed the first voluntary local review in the English-speaking Caribbean. Initially, we viewed the experience as an opportunity to better understand sustainable development at the subnational level. What we did not anticipate was how profoundly it would have influenced the preparation of our National Review. The VLR brought local priorities, community perspectives, and stakeholder experiences into the national conversation. It challenged some of our assumptions, highlighted issues that might otherwise have received less attention, and ultimately produced a more balanced and representative VNR. It reminded us that effective national reporting begins with listening locally. Our second surprise was how quickly the VNR evolved from being a government exercise into a national conversation. As public servants, we often think first about policy and data and technical reporting, yet one of the strongest responses came from our efforts to engage citizens in ways that were simple, inclusive and accessible. Through stakeholder consultations, validation workshops and our national cover art competition, we found that people genuinely wanted to contribute once they understood how sustainable development related to their own lives. Perhaps our most important communication lesson was this: People cannot be expected to participate in a process they do not understand. Before asking people to engage with the VNR, we first had to explain what the VNR was, why it mattered, and how it connected to our national development journey. That simple decision significantly strengthened national ownership of the process. It was not organized, nor was it analyzed in ways that supported SDG reporting. We also identified opportunities to strengthen institutional coordination, improve monitoring and evaluation systems, and better integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into national planning processes. Hence, these revelations were not shortcomings of the VNR; they were among its greatest contributions. The review gave us a clearer understanding of where institutional strengthening is needed if implementation is to accelerate during the remainder of the Decade of Action. Now, our final surprise relates directly to today's discussion. Preparing our VNR also changed the way we think about reporting its— our report. For Small Island Developing States, reporting requirements continue to expand while institutional capacity often remains constrained. This is why we strongly support efforts to harmonize reporting under the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS and the Sustainable Development Goals. Rather than creating separate reporting systems we should pursue integrated approaches that reduce duplication, strengthen national data systems, and allow countries to invest more time in implementation than in reporting. In Saint Kitts and Nevis, our VNR consultations also became an opportunity to introduce and discuss the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda with national stakeholders. While awareness of the Agenda is still growing, aligning it with the SDG framework provides an efficient pathway for strengthening implementation and reporting at the same time. Allow me therefore to mention, in one final reflection, perhaps the greatest surprise of all was that the most valuable product of our VNA was not the document we produced; it was the conversations we created. Those conversations, strengthened collaboration across government, encouraged greater stakeholder ownership. They improved our understanding of national challenges, and most importantly, helped position sustainable development as a shared national responsibility rather than the responsibility of any one institution. I must mention here that no, we did not have the necessary financing. It was a challenge. But if there is one lesson we should share with our fellow Small Island Developing States, it is this: treat the VNR not simply as a report to be submitted, but as an opportunity to strengthen the institutions, partnerships, and national dialogue, and that will ultimately determine whether or not the Sustainable Development Goals Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Ms. Tyson. The contribution of St. Kitts and Nevis and the surprises that you are identifying to us today feels like fresh island breeze. The processes, the national conversation, identifying institutions and how to be strengthened, the alignment of the SDGs to the ABAs, and just the conversation. It brings meaningful participation for citizens. Thank you for those lessons learned. And now we'll move on to our next panellist, the distinguished representative from Guinea-Bissau, Mr. Mendes. Mr. Mendes, thank you again for Guinea-Bissau and its contribution to the VNR implementation. You are linking your implementation of the SDGs to your 2026-2035 National Development Planning, which is centered on human capital, science, technology and innovation, infrastructure, peace and social well-being. Now, can you please just tell us briefly, in addition to any other things that you wish to inform us today, in your preparation you identify weak institution capacity as cross-cutting constraint. Which capacities should development partners prioritize so that support strengthens national institutions rather than creating parallel implementation structures?

Thank you, Mr. Moderator. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, it's always a pleasure joining you today representing the government of Guinea-Bissau, sharing our experience in the VNR process and moving to implementation. I thank Belize and Portugal as co-chairs of the steering committee. On Partnership for Seeds, UNDESA, and OHRLLS for organizing this event. Our experience preparing this second VNR, which we presented on last Friday, made us to believe, as we said, that the process was much more than a simple reporting exercise. It became a national process of reflection, dialogue, and policy alignment. It made us to look to the starting point where we stand today and the future actions. It allowed us to access progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, identify persistent development challenges, and strengthen commitment of leaving no one behind. The preparation of our National Development Plan, which is 2026-2035, provided us the foundation for this VNR and our continued commitment of implementation of the SDGs. The extensive nationwide consultation undertaken during the preparation of our National Development Plan brought together government institutions, local authorities, civil society, private sector, academia, our development partners, communities to identify our national priorities and development challenges. At the same time, preparing the VNR also brought these stakeholders in process that strengthens intersectoral coordination, policy coherence, and national ownership of sustainable development. As our national development plan aligns national priorities with the SDGs, Guinea-Bissau is progressively aligning national planning, budgeting, and monitoring around a single national development framework. Despite all this, some challenges still remain for a country as Guinea-Bissau, which is a SED country and with limited statistical capacities and and limited resources. 3 challenges have been identified so far, which are data, coordination, and finance. And for data, we think with regard to data, a continued investment in national statistical systems will be always necessary. For coordination, integrating information from multiple ministries and engaging consistent across planning, budgeting, and reporting process remain also demanding. For financing, as we know, Guinea-Bissau remains exposed to external shocks, including the food and fuel price volatility and the growing impacts of climate change, with increased developmental needs while reducing our fiscal space. On the implementation, As we said, our National Development Plan, which is the backbone of the VNR presented last Friday, is structured around 6 strategic pillars and is also fully aligned with the SDGs objectives as outlined, which are peacebuilding, governance, building democratic rule of law, economic diversification, human and capital development, and improvement of living conditions, preservation of and conservation of biodiversity, combating climate change and enhancing natural capital, revitalizing foreign policy, strengthening regional integration, and engaging Guineans in diaspora and land use planning and local development. The 6 pillars of the National Development Plan encompass a total of 81 programs. To be implemented through 2 multi-year action plans, with the first covering the 5-year period from 2026 to 2030 and the second covering the period from 2031 to 2035. The implementation of these 81 programs of the National Development Plan is therefore an opportunity to accelerate efforts toward achieving the SDGs. Consequently, the integration of our National Development Plan with the SDGs reflects a commitment to aligning strategic planning and allocation of public resources with the 17 SDGs. As a result, the National Development Plan will henceforth serve as the primary official source of data implementation monitoring, and evaluation of the SDGs. Since our first VNR in 2022, with the assistance of our development partners, Guinea-Bissau has carried out significant reforms, including the implementation of macroeconomic stabilization measures as part of economic reform program, and has strengthened its public financial management system. And has accelerated efforts to diversify sources of economic growth. In conclusion, Guinea-Bissau remains firmly committed to the 2030 Agenda and looks forward to working closely with our development partners in order to accelerate the SDG implementation while leaving no one behind. I thank you, Mr. Moderator.

Thank you, Thank you, Mr. Mendes, for not restraining yourself in sharing the experience of Guinea-Bissau, the preparation of your VNR, and also telling us some lessons that you learned from the last time and what the government has endeavored to undertake to improve its own governance, so to speak. So thank you very much. Now, the last on our list of panelists, Madam Co-Chair, is Jamaica. Now, I would like to welcome again Ms. Latoya Clarke. This is not the first time Jamaica has made this. We learned a lot from Jamaica the last time you made your VNR, and this time you're presenting it again. We would really love to just to hear from you. Is there any other lessons learned for us from a partnership angle?

Thank you, Sai. It is always a pleasure to greet you. Distinguished colleagues, good morning. We thank Belize and Portugal as co-chairs of the Steering Committee on Partnerships for Small Island Developing States, as well as UNDESO and the OHRLLS— I did better today— for inviting Jamaica's input to this meeting. On the Steering Committee on Partnership for SIDS. Jamaica ascribes special importance to this conversation, from VNRs to partnerships accelerating SDG implementation in SIDS. Successive voluntary national reviews for Jamaica have supported the development of partnerships that have been responsive to its development priorities. For Jamaica, the VNR forms part of a larger monitoring and evaluation system for national development and is used as a tool for evidence-based policymaking. The VNR is therefore designed not only as a stocktake of progress, but provides a deeper analysis with sensitivities to national and global sustainable development issues. Jamaica's VNRs have been used in program and project design, for research by academia and policymakers, and to inform further studies on development issues. I will share examples on Goal 13 from the 2022 VNR and the development theme of building climate resilience. The VNR identified the following issues: A high prevalence of poverty and the need for financial support to improve the lives of Jamaicans experiencing poverty, noting how unsustainable livelihood practices exacerbate climate vulnerability. Limited research capacity and technological development. The need for inclusion of climate-responsive budgeting. The need for strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, the need for sustained financial support for adaptation and mitigation measures, data to inform adaptation planning, data management infrastructure, and technical expertise. Through partnership and collaboration among government, communities, academia, the private sector, civil society, regional institutions, and international development partners, Jamaica has responded through measures including advancing technological development and capacity building through the continued expansion and functionality of the Jamaica Systemic Risk Assessment Tool, the This geospatial analytical platform is being developed through a partnership between the Planning Institute of Jamaica, PIOJ, the University of Oxford, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Climate Studies Group at the University of the West Indies, Mona. This tool is towards strengthening resilience building for critical infrastructure and performing vulnerability assessments across key sectors. Technical experts from key ministries, departments, and agencies have been trained in the use of the tool, and the CSGM at UWI Mona is currently working on embedding a related online course to ensure sustainability. Strengthening shock-responsive social protection. Through the development of the Jamaica Household Damage Impact and Needs Assessment Tool, JHDINA dashboard, through partnership between the World Food Programme and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, allowed timely assessments for persons impacted by Hurricane Melissa and facilitated the provision of social protection services. Through a partnership with the World Food Food Program and CRIF SPC, the government was also able to provide financial support earmarked for social protection after both Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa. Improved disaster risk management capacity through the use of drone and satellite imagery to generate real-time damage assessment information for first responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa through partnerships among the National Spatial Data Management Branch, Jamaica Flying Labs, and Esri's Disaster Response Program, for which Jamaica received an award yesterday. Data to inform adaptation planning is being generated under the Jamaica National Adaptation Project being implemented by the Climate Change Branch and the Planning Institute of Jamaica with funding from the Green Climate Fund. Under the project, hazard vulnerability assessments for 5 climate-sensitive sectors are being updated to support adaptation planning, and the relevant sectors are water, health, agriculture, tourism, and coastal resources, as well as human settlements. On social protection, the 2022 VNR was used in the development of Social Protection for Increased Resilience and Opportunity project, and this is backed by the World Bank, executed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, and supports the development of institutional and data systems for enhancing technology in service delivery. It also includes the development of the infrastructure for a proposed unemployment insurance scheme for workers and capacity building of critical stakeholder entities, presenting a modernized and integrated approach to social protection and development. The VNR 2026 expanded the focus of the 2022 VNR to include lessons learned, the way forward, and resource requirements to a thematic focus on key development priorities. Examples include institutional strengthening, identified as a universal convergence engine given its enabling force on SDG implementation and acceleration; modernization of social protection as a responsive measure for vulnerability and the promotion of income security; energy transition to support economic development and climate resilience, and the blue economy as an engine of growth for SIDS. This format provides partners and stakeholders with data and information both on the current situation as well as Jamaica's priorities for development. This 3rd VNR was co-created through stakeholder partnership and took lessons from the 2022 VNR, which highlighted localization as an area of priority. As a result, consultations expanded the inclusion of community groups and local authorities as key actors in development. The process of developing the VNR was led by the National SDG Core Group, with oversight from the National 2030 Agenda Oversight Committee. The thematic reports were developed jointly by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the respective portfolio ministries. It comprehensively discusses the central themes in the SDGs, demonstrating interconnectedness across the agenda, providing information that moves beyond assessment of progress to demonstrating the practical lessons learned through implementation, priorities beyond 2030, and the resources required to advance these transformations. Our stakeholder consultations at the national level examined the thematic areas and provided us with excellent feedback, including from youth stakeholders, on what works and what does not work on the ground and how local-level partnerships can be strengthened to support their implementation. These consultations have been documented in a report to inform further dialogue with the relevant stakeholders and provides valuable information on strengthening partnerships for local sustainable development. The Special Report on Private Sector Engagement with National Development and the SDGs was developed through partnership with the Mona School of Business and Management at the University of the West Indies, Mona. This is— this was the initiation of a partnership to last well beyond the life of the VNR. The report has highlighted the alignment between private sector activities and the SDGs beyond their operational task of economic growth and job creation. This report is expected to further engage the private sector, having set a baseline from the firms that we have studied. Through partnership with the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, a study on SDG acceleration was also conducted to inform strategies for advancing progress on the SDGs and on national development beyond 2030. This study, which is included in the VNR, On productive capacities and SDG convergence provides an empirical lens to consider SDG acceleration and investment in strategic priorities with multiplier effects. If I may, moderator, just add a plug here that our side event this afternoon at 1 o'clock at the Permanent Mission will explore the findings of this study. In conclusion, the VNR is more than a report. It is a responsive instrument whose relevance was tested in the face of rebuilding from major devastation, responding to the regional and global situation, meeting commitments of the Abbas in the face of global challenges. The demands of a VNR extend beyond reporting to contemplation of the central issues in national development and exploration of the transformative pathways to drive progress in the medium and long term. Thank you.

I thank Ms. Clarke for that insightful contribution from the Government of Jamaica. Thank you very much, Latoya, for that. I won't attempt to summarize the substantive contribution you've made. It will make— do injustice to it, but I note the focus on poverty, the emphasis on the need for research, and of course the climate-responsive budgeting that you've said, and of course the example of the partnerships that you've made. Madam Co-Chair, that concludes the first of the panels this morning. I must say that the points raised are highly relevant to the work of the Steering Committee, particularly as we look ahead to the national and regional dialogues, and also to the multi-stakeholder dialogue, the Partnerships Award, and of course the Partnership Lab. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Nsai, for moderating the panel, and thank you very much as well to the panelists for a really enriching conversation on your VNR experience. You spoke about the VNR as a learning tool for you, but it's a learning tool for the rest of the international community where we can build stronger partnerships. I will now turn to our second panel, which will discuss partner support and cooperation, and it will be moderated by Ms. Tishka Francis, Head of Small Island Developing States Subprogram of that very long name office, OHRLLS. Over to you, Tishka.

Thank you, co-chairs, and good morning to all the colleagues, Excellencies. Good morning. As mentioned, it's my pleasure to moderate this panel, which focuses on partner support and cooperation, bringing together member states, UN system, and other stakeholders to discuss how partnerships can help translate the insights emerging from VNRs into tangible results on the ground. And this is particularly relevant for SIDS, as VNRs have served as an important platform for mobilizing resources, attracting investment, sharing experiences, and building strategic partnerships that support the implementation of national sustainable development goals. And we are fortunate today to be joined by 3 distinguished speakers. Mr. Alessandro Gueri, Director General for European and International Affairs and Sustainable Finance at the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security of Italy. We also have Ms. Francine Pascaruana, Director for Sustainable Development, Ministry for Energy and Environment and the Regeneration of the Grand Harbour of Malta. And we have Ms. Deema Al-Khatib, Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and we also will welcome our co-chair, Ambassador Vinhais, Permanent Representative of Portugal, to also contribute to the panel with respect to your national experiences. As we are running a little late on time, I will ask the panelists to please be as concise as possible to allow some time for discussions, and if you can keep maybe your interventions between 3 to 5 minutes, that would be most grateful— we would be most grateful. With that, Mr. Gueiri, I have the pleasure to ask you, how can VNRRs be leveraged as tools to mobilize investments and establish partnerships which align with SIDS' priority needs? Mr. Gueiri, you have the floor.

I start by saying— by congratulating all the seats that have presented their VNRs this year and in the previous ones. Italy believes that the VNRs are most valuable when they serve as a strategic tool to guide implementation, identify priorities, mobilize partnership, and accelerate progress towards the SDGs, because by providing a country-led assessment of achievement, challenges, and national priorities, VNRs help governments and development partners build a common understanding of where support is more needed. They also strengthen dialogue on shared challenges, including governance, data systems, integrated planning, stakeholder engagement, and coordination across different levels of government. This is precisely where Italy seeks to add value, and I would like to go into some details of the the rooted relationship between Italy and SEEDS. Since 2007, Italy has mobilized more than €50 million through 80 projects across SEEDS. Our cooperation with you is country-driven and aligned with national priorities, the Rio Conventions, and the 2030 Agenda. We believe that development cooperation is most effective when it responds to priorities identified by partner countries themselves, and for this reason, VNRs are at the core of our cooperation and represent an important reference point to this end. Allow me to show some practical examples. In Belize, the 2024 Voluntary National Review highlighted the need to strengthen progress towards SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production, Based on this, Italy, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, approved a specific project to support the SDG 12 over there, named Market Integration of Deforestation-Free Value Chains in the Sustainable and Inclusive Belize Project. The initiative supports climate-resilient deforestation-free agriculture value chains with a particular focus on sustainable cocoa production, support to smallholder farmers and MSMEs, Civil engagement, health services, while also functioning as a climate-resilient post-disaster hub through the integration of solar energy, rainwater harvesting, and other green technologies. Looking ahead, one important opportunity to accelerate progress is the growing role of innovative financing mechanisms, including the Fund for Response to Loss and Damage, to which Italy is the main contributor, and we have signed 2 weeks ago, the first sum of €20 million of contribution. I'm going to sign in 1 month's time the second leg of €80 million for a total of €100 million. At the same, we have just signed the finance of the second— of the last funding window for the GCF that for Italy is another sum of €300 million that was already secured grant resources, and we are on this also available to discuss with you on how to remarket it towards specific mechanisms to support SEEDS. I think this financial instrument can help SEEDS to translate priorities identified through BNRs in specific projects to support their specific situation and condition. However, access to finance alone is not the only priority, or is not sufficient in itself, and this is where international partnerships are essential. By combining financial resources with technical assistance, capacity building, knowledge sharing, partners can further support countries. To this end, we cooperate, as you know, with UNDESA and also with OHRLLS. Through this partnership, Italy has supported capacity-building, partnership facilitation, monitoring and evaluation, and implementation efforts under the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SEEDS. Italy also has contributed to strengthening the network of SEEDS National Focal Points, supporting greater coordination and coherence. To this end, I can mention the the Partnership Platform on Localizing the SDGs that we are building together with UN-Habitat. Aligning cooperation initiatives with PNR priorities can make partnerships more responsive to national needs, improve coordination among partners, and help direct resources where they can have great impact. I would like to conclude that Italy remains committed. You can count on us. We are discussing with the AOSIS representative, Ambassador Said Al-Aouf, to further strengthen our program with AOSIS to support their young diplomats to study here in New York for one year on climate negotiation, and so you can count on us. And I conclude by mentioning statistics that I have just checked because I was not sure about that. that maybe can justify the special interlinkage between Italy and SIDS, that Italy is across the EU-27, thanks also to Brexit, is the European country with more island inhabitants, with an amount of 6.7 million out of our overall 60 million people. So thank you. I'm happy, really happy to be here with you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Guerri, for that intervention, and thank you to Italy for your strong partnership with the SIDS. Thank you for outlining some of the direct avenues for financing and partnerships with the SIDS. For OHRLS, we're very grateful for Italy's continued support for the national focal points in particular. I'd like to announce that we now have interpretation if that is needed. For the colleagues who will need the interpretation, please avail yourself of that service. We will now hear from Francine from Malta, and I would like to ask you, as Malta presented your VNR last year, what mechanisms have proven most effective in fostering meaningful engagement, particularly with civil society organizations and other stakeholders? Francine, you have the floor.

Thank you.

the floor.

Good afternoon, distinguished delegates, and thank you for this opportunity to share insights from Malta's experience with the preparation of its 2nd Voluntary National Review, which was actually presented last year. And from the outset, I would like to stress that Malta's VNR process was grounded in the understanding that sustainable development is indeed a shared responsibility. In fact, meaningful stakeholder engagement supported by strong partnership and collaboration was essential in this process to ensure that the review reflected diverse perspectives as well as fostered a genuine sense of collective ownership of the Agenda 2030. As a key element in process was precisely the establishment of the Sustainable Development Multistakeholder Forum, which provided a dedicated platform for dialogue and collaboration among government, civil society, academia, the private sector, local councils, youth representatives, and other stakeholders. The forum enabled continuous engagement throughout the VNR process allowing stakeholders to contribute effectively and identify challenges and opportunities, thereby strengthening ownership of both the VNRR and the broader sustainable development agenda. To ensure broader and meaningful participation, Malta also undertook a stakeholder mapping exercise, which was complemented by tailored questionnaires, targeted consultation, as well as dedicated information sessions. This approach recognized that obviously different stakeholders engage in different ways, and this helped us ensuring that all diverse perspectives, priorities, and experiences were indeed reflected in the actual PNR. Another important mechanism is the Sustainable Development Fund for Voluntary Organizations, which provides financial support to civil society actors to implement projects that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs at the national level. Beyond the VNR process, the Fund also serves as a key vehicle for sustained engagement with civil society organizations, fostering long-term partnership and enabling the same organizations to actively contribute to Malta's sustainable development agenda. By supporting community-driven initiatives, this fund empowers communities to effectively translate sustainable development objectives into tangible actions. Malta has also placed particular emphasis on youth engagement. In fact, through dedicated initiatives such as the SDG Youth Champions and the SDG Youth Meetups, young people are indeed given meaningful opportunities to contribute to national sustainable development discussions as well as reporting processes. A highlight of this engagement was the inclusion of a dedicated chapter in the VNRR, which was authored as well as presented by Malta's SDG Youth Champions and the UN Youth delegates. These provided young people with a direct platform to share their perspectives, priorities, aspirations, as well as enriching the VNRR while reinforcing the principle of leaving no one behind. Together, these mechanisms helped strengthen a whole-of-society approach to sustainable development, ensuring that the VNRR reflected a broad range of voices as well as perspectives. Malta's experience demonstrates that effective stakeholder engagement goes beyond just consultation. It requires ongoing structured dialogue, dedicated support mechanisms, and opportunities for stakeholders to actively contribute to the implementation of sustainable development initiatives. At the same time, we believe that there is a significant value in creating more opportunities for peer learning and knowledge exchange among countries, Drawing on the experiences which were shared by previous speakers, it is clear that national contexts differ, but many of the challenges and the opportunities associated with the SDG implementation and the VNRR process are indeed shared. Platforms such as this one provide an opportunity, an important space to exchange experiences, learn from one another, and identify practical solutions that may be adapted. To different national circumstances. Malta has greatly benefited from international cooperation and the sharing of good practices, and we indeed look forward to continue to contribute to these discussions by sharing our own experiences and lessons learned. We believe that by working together, strengthening partnerships, and learning from one another, we can collectively advance the implementation of the 2030 agenda, as well as accelerating progress towards achieving the SDGs. Thank you.

Thank you, Francine, for highlighting the importance of inclusive consultation process in the VNR preparatory process. This is an important tool for facilitating meaningful engagement with civil society organizations and other stakeholders, including the private sector, and is a tool that we can all— a best practice we can all learn from. I will now ask Ms. Deema Al-Khatib, how can SIDS benefit more from peer learning, shared tools, and regional support arrangements, including through South-South and triangular cooperation? Deema, you have the floor.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Moderator, Excellencies, and distinguished delegates. It's such a pleasure to be with you for this very timely discussion today, and let me thank the co-chairs, Belize and Portugal, and of course all the partners. Of course, also commending all the SIDS that have presented their VNRs this year, providing a comprehensive and strategic evidence-based overview of their collective progress and revealing systemic implementation gaps and pinpointing the multi-stakeholder partnerships required to bridge them. Our analysis at the UN Office for South-South Cooperation of the 2026 SIDS VNRs reveals a clear paradigm shift. While traditional development cooperation remains essential and critical, the demand for agile peer-to-peer solutions is growing exponentially. The interconnected challenges facing SIDS, from compounding climate shocks to crippling debt distress, requires solutions that are context-specific, highly adaptable, and grounded in shared experiences. We're also seeing SIDS increasingly positioning South-South and Triangle Cooperation not as a supplementary option but as a primary pathway for sustainable development. And this growing trend, of course, aligns very well with Abbas, which explicitly recognizes South-South and Triangle Cooperation as central structural means of implementation. Let me also mention that the presented VNRs echo this alignment. We've read also in Jemaiqa's VNR explicitly highlights the South-South cooperation offers its national system greater opportunities to access regional expertise, climate resilience innovations, and digital transformation models. Similarly, Tonga seeks durable partnerships, while Kiribati emphasizes international cooperation to overcome its geographic isolation. So across these examples are not only identifying shared challenges, but they are also looking for shared practical solutions. So the guiding question before us is how can SIDS benefit more from peer learning and shared tools and regional support arrangements, including through South-South cooperation? And meeting this demand requires really transitioning from ad hoc isolated exchanges to institutionalized and scalable mechanisms. Development demands need to be matched with proven southern solutions. At UNOSSE, we are already putting this forward-looking architecture into practice through our policy support, policy and intergovernmental support, but also the knowledge building and the catalytic funding that the trust funds that we manage are providing, such as the India-UN Fund and the IPSA Fund— India, Brazil, and South Africa. Let me share some concrete examples of this support. One, for example, as part of the operationalization of the UN system-wide strategy and with the collective support of several UN entities, we have been supporting UN country team pilots facilitating South-South exchanges among Mauritius, Seychelles, and Cape Verde specifically on the blue economy, taking a technical deep dive into sophisticated market-ready financial instruments, and specifically Cabo Verde Blue X facility and the Seychelles pioneering debt-for-nature swaps. This collaboration is directly shaping now Mauritius' national blue economy strategy and establishing a highly replicable template for sub-regional financial financing mechanism. We're also supporting embedding South-South modalities into regional UN architectures, namely the Caribbean Multi-Country Office, and also in partnership with Portugal, another example where we have been, thanks to this partnership, supporting a blue economy pilot triangular cooperation project implemented by UNESCO International Institute for higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean, whereby sharing knowledge and connecting Angola, Chile, Jamaica, and Portugal, the project has produced multilingual publications and capacity-building toolkits that translate peer learning into locally led action for coastal communities. In addition to our— also in terms of knowledge sharing, in addition to our South-South Galaxy that hosts more than best practices, which we invite all the SIDS to always make good use of. We have been facilitating technical and knowledge-building support. I will give the example of recently, with our partnership with the European Space Agency, we are enabling access to frontier space technologies for the Global South, and this triangle cooperation is empowering SIDS with critical Earth observation data and satellite analytics, enabling highly precise localized decision-making for disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, and sustainable coastal management. Another thing is that we're stepping up, also elevating South-South and Triangle cooperation. This September, we will be launching the Global Alliance for South-South and Triangle Cooperation, which brings together member states partners, and many also multilateral development banks, think tanks, academia, to provide on a voluntary basis a platform that is designed to connect country priorities with expertise, partnerships, and catalytic support. This platform will be operationalized digitally. It will be housed in our South-South Galaxy, which we are now calling South-South Galaxy Plus, and it will also work a lot on matching development needs identified through processes such as the VNR with relevant solutions, technical expertise, and partnership opportunities. It will help to transform solidarity into practical action and accelerate progress towards the SDGs, and this of course applies to the SIDS. In addition, as I mentioned earlier, our trust funds that we manage on behalf of the different countries from the South, we have been supporting 51 transformative SIDS-designed projects. A prime example is the $1 million hurricane shelter project in Abaco, Bahamas, supported through the India UN Fund and delivering demand-driven climate-resilient infrastructure. where it is most needed. So our goal at UNOSSE is to connect the dots, and we remain committed to the ABAS Action Plan and to provide support to SIDS in line with our mandates and our related services of policy, knowledge, and catalytic financing through the Trust Fund. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Dima, for that important intervention on the role of South-South cooperation, including in the context of SIDS partnerships. Thank you very much. I would like to ask our co-chair to join the discussion, and drawing on Portugal's own VNR presentation in 2023, what experiences can be shared on moving from review to implementation, and how can the VNR findings be translated into stronger national planning, coordination, and stakeholder engagement mechanisms? Ambassador Vignes, you have the floor.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Madam President, and thank you to all of you, to hold in this room after 1.5 hours, but thank you very much. Appreciate it. A few remarks from our side on this panel, too. VNR reaches its full potential only when its findings are translated into policies, institutions, capacities, and partnerships. We have presented our second VNR in 2023. The process confirmed progress, but also identified several limitations in the national implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Many public policies contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals, but this alignment was not always explicit or systematic. Stronger coordination was needed across sectors and between national, regional, and local levels. Global targets and indicators also needed to be better adapted to the national context, supported by more granular and territorially disaggregated data. Stakeholder participation, moreover, needed to become more continuous and structured. Portugal therefore concluded that the next steps should not simply be another review, but a national framework for acting on what the review has revealed. This led to the adoption in March 2026 of our National Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2030. From the perspective of today's discussion, its more relevant component is an operational plan for policy coherence, structured around 3 pillars. The first is to integrate the 2030 Agenda more systematically throughout the public policy cycle, from planning and design to budgeting, implementation and evaluation. The second is to improve monitoring by adapting targets and indicators to national priorities and strengthening the links between data, policies and results. The third is to build capacity, particularly within the public administration, while also improving communication and stakeholder engagement. We do not present this experience as a model to replicate. The Portugal institutional context differs considerably from that of the SEEDS, and any cooperation must remain nationally owned, demand-driven, and adapted to existing capacities. Nevertheless, several issues addressed by our roadmap resonate with the VNRRs presented by SEEDS this year. For instance, gaps in data and human resources, the need for stronger coordination and monitoring systems, the value of linking VNRs to existing national planning arrangements, and the importance of localization and stakeholder participation. These experiences are pointing to areas that may merit further attention in exchanges among SEEDS and partners: translating VNR findings into national implementation frameworks, connecting planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, Adapting indicators to national and local contexts, reinforcing all-of-government coordination without creating additional budget burdens. And finally, sustaining stakeholder engagement beyond the reporting cycle. Some of these areas may also be relevant to future peer learning exchanges, partnership labs, or South-South and triangular cooperation discussions were considered useful by SEEDS. The broader lesson from Portugal's experience is simple: the most sustainable approach may be to strengthen existing institutions, clarify responsibilities, and equip them with practical tools. In this way, a VNR can become not merely an account of past progress, but an instrument for organizing future action. I thank you very much for your attention, and I have to apologize because due to previous commitments, I will have to leave in a few minutes, and I will leave you in the able hands of my fellow co-chair, Ambassador of Belize, and my colleague Duarte will sit in this chair. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ambassador Viñas and co-chair, particularly for your insights on VNR planning, coordination, and stakeholder engagement. I wish to thank all of our panelists who have given us a very rich basis for discussion. These insights, of course, will be brought into our future activities on partnerships as well as the upcoming Global Business Network Forum in Maldives later this year. With that, I would now hand over to Sai, who will now lead us in the interactive discussion. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Ms. Francis. Thank you very much for this interactive discussion, Excellencies, colleagues. In the spirit of Saint Kitts, I also have a surprise for you. We do not have time. So, but let me just open the floor out of respect for the participation today. Thank you very much. I was advised that the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States may wish to make a statement, and I want to give that to the delegation of Palau. Not anymore? Thank you very much. So there are— is there anything new that we've heard today from the discussion? I thought I heard a mouthful and a lot of lessons to be learned. If there is anything else that can contribute to that discussion that will strengthen partnership for SIDS, you're most welcome to raise and speak very briefly. If there is none, I would now— I have a question. hand over the microphone to the co-chairs to conclude this partnership event.

Thank you very much, Sayan. Thank you also to Tishka, and thank you to everyone for being here, especially to our panelists for sharing your experiences. I will not attempt to wrap up in terms of everything that we've heard, But I did want to just reemphasize again some of the points about the VNR being a learning tool. And it dawned on me that those who prepared the VNR would probably not want to hear that it was just a tool because it was a lot of work and a lot of effort and a lot of time that went into it. And so we commend all of your teams. But going beyond the VNR, because this is not about just the report. This is really about what we can do to drive forward our 2030 Agenda, and in the case of the Small Island Developing States, it's about the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States. It needs to be resourced in every single context. It needs support not only in terms of institutional capacity, but in terms of the partnerships that are necessary for some of those innovative mechanisms that we heard from Jamaica, Guinea-Bissau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Marshall Islands. We want to see how this partnership committee can help drive forward some of those partnerships, the connections, and we need to use then what we have within the framework in terms of the Global Business Network Forum. Let me also underscore the Center of Excellence that was established with the Abbas, which has several different components. And we want to see that itself resourced to address some of the very bottlenecks that we heard about— data capacity, etc. So, Duarte, do you want to say anything? I'll give the floor to Duarte, and then we can wrap up.

Thanks. Thank you so much, Ambassador.

I think you've said everything. So please apply, and if you have any questions, communicate with us or the Secretary.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, and I wish you a very good lunch, and thank you. There are still more VNRs. I look forward to seeing you in the ECOSOC, but I do— somebody did— no?

Okay.

Thank you.