UNECA, UNCTAD Convene Regional Dialogue to Boost Climate Financing for African SIDS 

Addis Ababa, May 27, 2025 (ENA) -- The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) opened a high-level regional dialogue aimed at enhancing access to external financing for climate-resilient development in African Small Island Developing States (SIDS). 

Held at the UNECA Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, the two-day event brings together representatives from Comoros, Cabo Verde, Seychelles, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, and Benin, alongside UN agencies and development partners. 

In her opening remarks at the meeting, Zuzana Schwidrowski, ECA Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance & Governance Division, underscored the urgent need for innovative financing solutions to address the unique vulnerabilities of African SIDS. 

"This gathering is a milestone in our collective journey to empower African SIDS to access the external financial resources they urgently need to build climate-resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economies," she stated. 

Schwidrowski highlighted the severe economic constraints facing African SIDS, including small, import-dependent economies, geographic remoteness, and exposure to global shocks.

She pointed to alarming debt levels, with Cabo Verde’s public debt-to-GDP ratio reaching 109 percent in 2025, while Comoros has shifted to a high risk of debt distress, limiting fiscal flexibility. 

The meeting aims to validate national financial strategies for Comoros and Cabo Verde, incorporating green bonds, blue bonds, diaspora bonds, and debt-for-climate swaps, Identify regulatory reforms to unlock external financing , strengthen coordination between finance and environment ministries , facilitate peer learning among African SIDS, including Mauritius and Seychelles and call for Reform in Global Financial Architecture. 

Schwidrowski criticized the current international financial system, which often excludes middle-income SIDS from concessional financing despite their fragility. 

"African SIDS, despite their middle-income classifications, often lack access to concessional finance. Many are penalized for their income rather than supported for their fragility," she said. 

She called for revised eligibility criteria, better access to global climate funds, and regional financing mechanisms tailored to SIDS’ needs. 

Following the dialogue, UNECA and UNCTAD will finalize national roadmaps based on stakeholder feedback, provide technical assistance to operationalize strategies, Organize a follow-up virtual workshop to share lessons continent-wide, expand the initiative to additional African countries. 

Schwidrowski reaffirmed UNECA’s dedication to African SIDS.

"These nations may be small in geography, but they are large in ambition, resilience, and potential. By strengthening regional cooperation, leveraging innovation, and aligning financial flows with national priorities, we can move closer to a future where climate resilience and sustainable development are not aspirational ideals—but achievable realities."