The Rio+20 SIDS Informal Ministerial Meeting opened today with heads of government and ministers from 29 states in attendance.

At the start of the meeting, the Executive Coordinator of the Rio+20 Conference Elizabeth Thompson updated delegates on progress in the negotiations in the lead up to the meeting. This was followed by a presentation by Appio Claudio Acquarone, Ambassador of Brazil to Barbados, on Brazil’s views on the outcome of the upcoming conference noting it should incorporate, inter alia: povert-eradication and a clear framework for multilateral institutions on sustainable development.

The meeting continued with presentations on the priorities of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) for the Rio+20 Conference and views from the Caribbean, Pacific, as well as Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea (AIMS).

In the afternoon, heads of government and ministers convened in closed meetings to address SIDS' priorities for the Rio+20 Conference and a level of ambition for the proposed Third Global Conference on Sustainable Development of SIDS in 2014. Participants then reconvened in plenary for a discussion on expectations for the Rio+20 Conference.

At the end of the meeting, delegates expressed support for the summary of the proceedings by Chair Denis Lowe, Barbados, and the meeting drew to a close at 6:40pm.