The Maldives and the United Nations (UN) have emphasised the inextricable link between the ocean and climate change. The discussions took place during a courtesy call by the UN Secretary General's (SG's) Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson, on the President's Special Envoy for Climate Change Sabra Ibrahim Noordeen.
During the meeting held at the President’s Office, the two envoys spoke on the recent multilateral progress on ocean conservation and biodiversity, including the Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution, the High Seas Treaty and the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The UNSG's Special Envoy for the Ocean is in the Maldives to attend the Conference on Sustainable Ocean Management in the Maldives and the Indian Ocean. The Conference is organised by the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) of Sasakawa Peace Foundation in partnership with Women and Democracy, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO).
The conference explored the progress of the Maldives towards a sustainable ocean and blue economy and the challenges and future prospects for the country and the East Indian Ocean.