Post-pandemic recovery: More int’l support needed for sustainable development – House Speaker

…during 5th World Conference of Parliamentary Speakers in Austria

Guyana’s Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, used the occasion of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP) in Vienna, Austria to make a call for increased international support for sustainable development.
Nadir was participating in a panel discussion on post-pandemic recovery. The discussion was being held under the theme: Transforming the Economy to Combat Climate Change and Promote Sustainable Development.

According to a statement from the Parliament of Guyana, Nadir pointed out to the panel that climate change is currently widespread, rapid, and intensifying. He further posited that while there are global decisions to address climate change, many opportunities exist for cheating at the national level, and not enough international support is given for sustainable development efforts.
“Speaker Nadir spoke of Guyana’s experience of the effects of climate change, drawing attention to the 2005 and recent floods and their effects. The Hon. Speaker shared that, in 2005, after a few days of rain, floods destroyed over 35 per cent of Guyana’s gross domestic product, and the recent rainfalls have destroyed an additional 5 per cent of the economy and have affected 20 per cent of the population,” the statement noted.
Nadir concluded his contribution by pointing to Guyana’s commitment to counter climate change through the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and Green State Development Strategy (GSDS).
The 5WCSP, which brought together Speakers and delegations from more than 193 countries, concluded on Wednesday. The contributions Nadir made to the panel discussion follow similar calls that have been made by the Government whenever the opportunity presented itself during international and regional seminars.
There was the inaugural Africa-Caricom Summit that got underway virtually on Tuesday. During the summit, President Dr. Irfaan Ali spoke of the need for African and Caribbean Community (Caricom) states to come up with a common strategy for advocacy. This is especially important ahead of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and the UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26.
According to the President, the group needs to have a forceful message when it comes to common issues like rescheduling loans, debt financing, and access to capital in the region’s rebuilding efforts.
Additionally, there must be an evaluation of the global vaccination system as well as its failure to respond to the most vulnerable in the world.
“For us, the global pandemic awakens the harsh reality of the differentiating treatment between the developed and the developing world. It also re-emphasises that, fundamentally, it is the developing world that suffers the most under these circumstances,” President Ali had said.
“I am therefore of the view that this forged collaboration must address the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, climate change, mitigation, and adaptation measures; food security and cost of commodities and transportation,” the President also said.
And earlier this year, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh used the platform of the 2021 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum on Financing for Development to call for increased concessional financing for the developing world.
The Minister was at the time virtually attending the forum, and he emphasised the urgent need to address the challenges faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in accessing financing to meet their development needs. This is especially in light of the targets set by the developed countries.