Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid on Monday called for unity and long-term action by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the response against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shahid made the declaration on behalf of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih while addressing the NAM Contact Group, during an Online Summit level meeting held via videoconference.
In his statement, the foreign minister highlighted that SIDS, which often depend on a single industry to generate revenue, are highly vulnerable to external shocks such as the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Briefing the NAM Contact Group on the measures taken by the Maldivian government in the COVID-19 response, he emphasised the debilitating impact of the pandemic on the country's economy, which saw the tourism industry, the main source of income, come to a deadlock due to global and local travel restrictions imposed to control the spread of infection.
Small Islands Developing States including Maldives, whose vulnerabilities are surfacing in the starkest form during COVID-19 pandemic. Dependency on a single industry—tourism—makes Maldives among the most exposed & vulnerable countries in the current health and economic crisis.
— Abdulla Shahid (@abdulla_shahid) May 4, 2020
Hence Shahid called on NAM to bring the vulnerabilities of SIDS to international attention and highlighted, in particular, the need for debt moratoriums. He also urged larger members of NAM to support and implement long-term action to support the smaller states, stressing the importance of greater unity and cooperation during times of crisis. In this regard, the foreign minister extended gratitude to the development partners of Maldives, especially the regional allies, for their assistance in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The smaller members are relying on NAM to call on the international community to show greater solidarity, to mobilize urgent and much needed support for the most vulnerable, and to call for longer-term actions we would like to see from the larger economies of the world.
— Abdulla Shahid (@abdulla_shahid) May 4, 2020
During the meeting, Shahid further pledged Maldives' support to establish a NAM Task Force to combat the coronavirus. A key outcome of the summit, the Task Force will receive submissions from member states regarding their humanitarian and medical needs during the pandemic, which will be shared with donor countries, international organisations and private entities.
The minister also pledged Maldives' support for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in leading the global response to the coronavirus, as well as other international and regional organisations.
The NAM Contact Group's Online Summit was convened under its chair, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and held under the theme 'United against COVID-19'. The heads of state and government, ministers of foreign affairs and other senior officials of member states, observer states and observer organisations participated in the session to assess the impact of COVID-19 and work towards solutions to address the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Comprising 120 member states, the NAM is one of the largest international organisations in the world after the United Nations. Maldives has been an active member of the Movement since August 15, 1976.
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