During his speech, Mr. Nasser Bourita welcomed the creation, in 2016, of this commission, alongside the two other climate commissions of the Congo Basin and the Sahel region, during the African Summit Action, convened at the initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, within the framework of the COP22 held in Marrakech.

Participants in this meeting hailed the leadership of Morocco, as a founding partner of the three African climate commissions, and expressed their deep gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for His constant commitment, in favor of a strong and resilient Africa in the face of the impacts of global climate change.

Bringing together Cape Verde, Comoros, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Madagascar and the Seychelles, which holds the presidency, the Commission aims to support African island states in their fight against climate, since these countries share a common ecological fragility, underlined the Minister.

Mr. Bourita reiterated Morocco's commitment to support the actions of the commission and the operationalization which is becoming more imperative than ever. "Morocco makes it a duty of solidarity and a priority of actions to contribute and create a virtuous dynamic, as underlined in the speech of His Majesty the King, during the 1st Summit of the Climate Commission of the Congo Basin, held in Brazzaville in 2018“, he said.

In order to accelerate the operationalization of the Island States Climate Commission, Mr. Bourita emphasized three essential prerequisites, namely, the identification of needs and ambitions, the development of a realistic investment plan to channel the technical and financial support the partners could provide and the establishment of a joint working group in order to set up a roadmap outlining the objectives to be achieved in the coming months.

Alongside the ministers of the commission member countries, this event was attended by representatives of the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Environment Program, the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Bank of development.