Thread

My friends, today Barbados helped to launch something truly important for our country, for the Caribbean and for all climate vulnerable nations. Here in Vienna, together with the OPEC Fund and our CVF V20 family, we launched the Vulnerability to Viability Compact. That may sound technical, so let me bring it home. This Compact is about making sure countries like Barbados can access finance that is fairer, more affordable and better suited to the future we are trying to build. It means longer repayment terms, stronger partnerships and investment that follows the priorities of our people. Every Bajan knows what resilience looks like. It is the school that must remain safe through storms. It is the clinic that must keep serving families when pressure comes. It is the water system that must hold strong through drought, flooding and rising costs. These are not luxuries. These are the foundations of dignity. For too long, climate vulnerable countries have carried burdens we did not create, while trying to build modern, confident societies with financial tools that were never designed for our reality. Today, we are helping to change that. Barbados is showing that small size does not mean small ambition. We are standing with 74 climate vulnerable economies, representing 1.7 billion people, to say that our development must be planned by us, led by us and supported in ways that make sense. This is about hope, yes, but it is also about delivery. It is about giving our children stronger systems, safer communities and a country that can face the future with confidence. I am proud to say that Barbados came to the table with purpose. Barbados came with solutions. Today, Barbados helped move the world forward.