Healthy Oceans Essential for Achieving Sustainable Development: Vice President

Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef has stated that healthy oceans are crucial for achieving sustainable development.

He made these remarks while speaking at a side event held during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, currently taking place in Seville, Spain.

Speaking at the event titled "Blended Finance Opportunities for Marine Biodiversity: Case Studies on Coral Reef Insurance and Blue Economy Financing," the Vice President highlighted the importance of healthy oceans in achieving sustainable development and emphasized the need for sustainable investments to reach this goal. In this regard, he shared that the Maldives is working to develop various financing mechanisms to cover the costs required for ocean protection. This includes blended financing systems.

During this event, information was shared regarding two ongoing projects in the Maldives under the blended finance mechanism: coral reef insurance systems and assistance provided to small and medium enterprises. This information was shared during a panel discussion featuring Fathimath Abdulla Kamaludeen, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Market Development Authority; Charles Yu, Technical Specialist in Climate Finance and Investment at UNDP; Yabanex Batista, Deputy Director of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR); and Georgia Rasis, Policy Lead for International Finance at the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).

The panel participants shared their experiences in developing the resources and regulatory frameworks needed to advance "blended finance" and in securing investments for the blue economy at international and regional levels. They also discussed various strategies that could be used to improve the international governance system. Through this side event, additional avenues were opened to secure the financial assistance needed to overcome these challenges for Small Island Developing States like the Maldives, which are among the most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and are custodians of rich oceans.