Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has decided to extend the chairmanship of Maldives for another two years.
The decision was made at a meeting held in New York on Monday.
Speaking to PSM News via telephone from New York, Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ahmed Sareer said “the decision by member states of AOSIS proves that they value the work done by the Maldives to promote the interests of small island states in the international arena.”
He also noted the important role played by the Maldives on behalf of small islands states in adopting the Paris agreement on climate change.
The Maldives assumed the chairmanship of AOSIS on the 1st of January 2015.
AOSIS is a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal countries that share similar development challenges and concerns about the environment, especially their vulnerability to the adverse effects of global climate change. It functions primarily as an ad hoc lobby and negotiating voice for small island developing States (SIDS) within the United Nations system.
AOSIS has a membership of 44 States and observers, drawn from all oceans and regions of the world: Africa, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Pacific and South China Sea.