Senator the Honourable Dennis Moses participates in the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at United Nations Headquarters, New York

Senator the Honourable Dennis Moses, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, attended during the morning period on September 27, 2015, the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at United Nations Headquarters in New York, organised by the People's Republic of China and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN). The meeting of Global Leaders, co-chaired by the President of the People's Republic of China and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, was of tremendous significance being the first meeting at the highest political level focused on gendere quality and women's empowerment, in which Heads of State and Government themselves announced commitments to achieve these objectives. 

Minister Moses witnessed the presentation of commitments to achieve gender quality by the Honourable Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Her Excellency, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia; His Excellency Raúl Castro, President of Cuba; Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil; Her Excellency Cristina Fernandez, President of Argentina; among other distinguished Heads of State and Government. 

Following the Global Leaders Meeting, Minister Moses met with the Honourable Luciano Busutil, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Malta. The issues discussed included inter alia: the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Malta in November this year, climate change, the need for collaboration among Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the migration crisis in the Mediterranean.

Minister Moses later held discussions with His Excellency Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on bilateral and multilateral areas of interest. The Ministers agreed that both countries should work towards closer co-operation in mutually beneficial areas to achieve enhanced levels of “people to people contact.” Minister Kvirikashvili confirmed the offer of his government of scholarships to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Both ministers agreed that this matter should be followed-up through the appropriate diplomatic channels. 

Minister Moses participated in the high level “Interactive Dialogue: Protecting our Planet and Combating Climate Change.” The attendees at this Interactive Dialogue who gave statements on behalf of their respective countries included among others: the President of Finland, the President of Nigeria, the President of Mozambique, the President of Tajikistan and the Prime Minister of Barbados. During his intervention, Minister Moses noted that the 2030 sustainable development agenda is a clarion call for ambitious and immediate action on climate change. He also reaffirmed Trinidad and Tobago’s commitment to doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate the effects of climate change notwithstanding the fact that Trinidad and Tobago’s contribution to the climate change challenge has been negligible.

Minister Moses continued his participation in the United Nations (UN) Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda which is being convened from September 25 to 27, 2015. The Speakers who addressed the General Assembly on the afternoon of September 27 included among others: the President of the United States of America, the President of France and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.