United Nations, New York – The United Nations is currently hosting the 3rd Preparatory Committee for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in New York. The 3rd Preparatory Committee brings together capital-based and UN-based officials to negotiate the shape, scope and ambition of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development scheduled for 30th June to 3rd July in Sevilla, Spain. Saint Kitts and Nevis is represented at this critical development finance cooperation meeting by Her Excellency Dr. Mutryce Williams, Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the UN, and Mr. Eustace T. Wallace, Minister Counselor and the Mission’s 2nd Committee (Economic and Finance) Representative at the Permanent Mission of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations.
Saint Kitts and Nevis, at the presentation of the Outcome Document for the 4th International Conference, in keeping with the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis’s decision to prioritize the cultural and creative economy as a means of diversification, has emphasized that, “Saint Kitts and Nevis views the cultural and creative sector as fertile ground for financing development. According to studies, the cultural and creative (CCI) sectors generate higher revenues than telecommunications services globally (US$2.25 trillion versus US$1.57 trillion) and employ more people than the automotive industry in Europe, Japan, and the United States combined (US$29.5 million versus US$25 million). We welcome the call for increased investment in culture to advance sustainable development and view this as an opportunity to more fully advocate for a broader understanding of the economic impact of the cultural sector, particularly as it relates to Caribbean Small Island Developing States.”
The Permanent Representative’s leadership on this issue has consequently increased coordination and partnership with the UNESCO New York Office ensuring that in the post-covid development space there is room for Kittitians and Nevisians with talent, creative capacity and entrepreneurial spirit to pursue their dreams on the international stage and gain upward mobility in a sustainable, resilient, and secure Saint Kitts and Nevis.
In a meeting at the Saint Kitts and Nevis Permanent Mission to the United Nations, hosted by Ambassador Williams, supported by Third Secretary Lecia Phipps, Mr. Eliot Minchenberg, the Director of the United Nations New York Liaison Office and UNESCO Representative to the United Nations, and Ms. Marloes Lagerweij, Liaison Officer at UNESCO New York, pledged to continue working together through the Group of Friends of Culture at the United Nations – a key outcome of Saint Kitts and Nevis’s active and earnest cultural diplomacy in New York.