Policymakers, statisticians, regional development partners and financial and sustainable development experts are among officials who have begun to strategise on steps to implement the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS) in 2026.

The officials are in Georgetown, Guyana, for the Sub-regional Capacity-Building Workshop on the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS) and its Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. The workshop, which opened on Monday, 15 December, is organised by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), and the United Nations Statistics Division and Division for Sustainable Development Goals (UNDESA).

The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda is a 10-year action plan designed to strengthen economic resilience, financing, climate action and data systems. It was adopted at the Fourth International Conference on SIDS in May 2024 in Antigua and Barbuda and was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in July 2024. It succeeds the Samoa Pathway as the principal global framework for SIDS development.

At the opening of the workshop on Monday, Dr. Armstrong Alexis, CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General, underscored the indispensable role of coordinated action to advance the sustainable development priorities of SIDS. He said the forum marked the Region’s first major opportunity to collectively define how Caribbean SIDS implement, monitor, and report on the ABAS.

“This is particularly significant for CARICOM SIDS because it provides a renewed and focused framework for addressing the longstanding structural vulnerabilities like the pervasive climate crisis, structural poverty, divisive inequality, persistent high debt and troubling limited fiscal space that impinge on our development outcomes. ABAS aligns closely with our regional priorities, including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, climate action, digital transformation, food and nutrition security, and the strengthening of our statistical ecosystems to better capture the lived realities of the citizens of our nations,” Dr. Alexis said.

He added that ABAS mandates that there is process with clear targets, indicators, and evidence-based reporting.

“Our ultimate outcome is to develop an efficient CARICOM Statistical System (CSS), that is responsive to the national, regional and global development agenda, enabling a resilient Community with sustained economic growth and development. The ABAS reinforces this thrust by calling for strengthened statistical systems, modernised data infrastructure, and closer alignment between national planning processes and global reporting obligations,” the Deputy Secretary-General said.

Please listen to the Deputy Secretary-General’s remarks here