According to the Antigua News Room website, an estimated 5,000 delegates, including approximately 50 heads of State, are expected to attend the meeting.

The source added that planning has already begun to accommodate the visitors and the police force, members of the army and more than 200 volunteers are expected to help keep security measures during the the event.

Under the theme Charting a Course for Resilient Prosperity, the conference will agree on a bold new Program of Action for the SIDS, with concrete and measurable targets to help those nations achieve their sustainable development goals over the next ten years, a United Nations press release noted. The event will bring together world leaders, members of civil society, the private sector, the academia, and other stakeholders through a formal program that will include plenary sessions and interactive dialogues, as well as other side events, to devise practical solutions to address the specific challenges of small island states.

In multiple forums organized by the UN, the international community has recognized that the SIDS require special attention due to their unique vulnerabilities, including their small size, geographic remoteness, limited resource and export base, and exposure to exogenous economic, social and environmental shocks.

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