UN General Assembly
2020

I thank all our partners who have generously extended financial, material and technical support during this crisis, even when they themselves are going through challenging times. One such example is India. The recent budget support of 250 million US dollars, was the single largest financial assistance from a donor during this pandemic. Mr President, The Covid pandemic has given us the opportunity to recalibrate our approach to development, and focus on building a more resilient world — one that delivers for planet, people, and prosperity. For countries like mine — climate change remains a significant threat — but also a threat that is difficult to overcome on our own. The number of islands that require emergency shore protection, flood or disaster relief are rising each year. The frequency, and severity of the events are pushing towards the limits of adaptation. There is also an increasing trend on the slow-onset events such as sea level rise. For the Maldives, the impacts of climate change are no longer the future. For us, it is our lived reality.