Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 06, 2025 (SKNIS): Approximately 300 regional and international delegates will gather in Saint Kitts and Nevis for the Global Sustainable Island Summit (GSIS) slated for May 27-29, 2025, reinforcing the Federation’s commitment to sustainability while positioning itself as a leader in conference tourism.
The event is being coordinated by Island Innovation, led by James Ellsmoor and his team, working closely with local event lead Sharon Rattan.
The five-day Global Sustainable Island Summit (GSIS) will focus on sustainable development and climate resilience through partnerships targeted at island states. The Ministry of Youth Empowerment will partner with the Summit to bring together over 200 participants at the youth forum which includes 100 local youth leaders and 100 international participants.
The Summit will open at the ECO Park in Sandy Point, a venture in collaboration with the Republic of China (Taiwan) – one of the Federation’s strongest partners in sustainability. Two days of discussions at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort will commence thereafter to address the Sustainable Island State Agenda (SISA) with experts and leaders from islands and former prime ministers attending. The event will include a two-day sub-regional summit in Nevis that enables representatives from Anguilla and other islands to tackle important climate financing matters. Additionally, the Federation will host a Geothermal Summit in Nevis which the Honourable Konris Maynard, Minister of Energy, will co-host together with the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), St. Kitts Electricity Company Limited (SKELEC), and Nevis Electricity Company (NEVLEC) to explore renewable energy development strategies.
The Honourable Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Environment and Climate Action, stressed the event’s importance which aligns with Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew’s vision for conference tourism and sustainability.
“The Ministry took on the Prime Minister’s mandate about conference tourism and sustainability, and we are bringing folks to Saint Kitts and Nevis to have a fulsome discussion on everything that matters to us around sustainability,” said Dr. Clarke. “It is not a simple task of mobilising resources and persons to have meaningful conversations about sustainability, importantly, because our islands have demonstrated our commitment to sustainability.”
The Global Sustainable Island Summit is the third major sustainability-focused conference that Saint Kitts and Nevis will host. From March 17-20, 2025, the Federation will host the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Regional Dialogue with the Caribbean, which will focus on climate financing, as well as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Summit from April 07-10, 2025. This meeting will convene regional human rights and environmental defenders.
Dr. Clarke highlighted diverse partnerships being established through the Summit which features an innovative hydroponics initiative worked on by the Ministry of Agriculture along with local artists and craft traders as evidence of the Federation’s creative approaches to sustainable development.
“Saint Kitts and Nevis is a hotspot, but importantly, bringing island nations from the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean means quite a bit as it is a demonstration that Saint Kitts and Nevis intends to become a sustainable island state with partners,” said Dr. Clarke.
Minister Clarke said that as Saint Kitts and Nevis develops into a center for sustainable progress and worldwide cooperation, GSIS 2025 will act as a platform to build partnerships and launch new initiatives which will guide island nations to a sustainable and resilient future.
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