21 August 2012: Prime Minister Tillman Thomas of Grenada has been tapped to be the third co-chair of the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA). Thomas will join two other co-chairs, James Michel (Seychelles) and Johnson Toribiong (Palau). Thomas will be represented at UN Headquarters in New York, US and in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) by Dessima Williams, Permanent Representative of Grenada to the UN.

Ronny Jumeau, the Seychelles’ roving Ambassador for Climate Change and Small Island Developing State Issues, announced Grenada’s leadership position on 21 August. He noted that the three co-chairs represent those countries that are part of the Western Indian Ocean Coastal Challenge (WIO-CC), the Micronesia Challenge in the Pacific, and now the Caribbean Challenge.

Jumeau called the post-Rio+20 era “even more challenging” for GLISPA.

Grenada began its service as GLISPA co-chair at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), where it co-hosted the high-level event, “Leaders Valuing Nature: A Celebration of Commitments.” Grenada is planning to co-host a summit of political and business leaders in 2013 with Richard Branson of Virgin, and Orlando Smith of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), to launch the second phase of the Caribbean Challenge Initiative. [IISD RS Sources] [GLISPA Website]