Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne and Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres
St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda — Sunday, September 21, 2025…….Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne departs Antigua today for New York to attend the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80), where he will lead Antigua and Barbuda’s delegation under the session theme, “Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.”
While in New York, Prime Minister Browne will advance Antigua and Barbuda’s priorities for Small Island Developing States (SIDS)—including accelerated delivery on ABAS implementation, climate and development finance, mental health and NCDs, gender equality, and opportunities for youth—through a full programme of high-level meetings, side events and bilaterals.
The Prime Minister will deliver a number of keynote addresses and speak at side events arranged by various organs of the United Nations. These include:
- Keynote at the Climate Week NYC Opening Ceremony
- High-level Meeting for the 30th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing+30)
- High-level Meeting of the Global Development Initiative
- First Biennial Summit for a Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Global Economy: Implementing commitments on financing development
- Friends of Vision (FoV) Side Event – “The Value of Vision: The Case for Investment in Eye Health”
- Clinton Global Initiative Roundtable: “Political Action and Investment for Mental Health Equity”
- Special Event on Climate for Heads of State and Government (“Climate Summit”)
- UNGA High-level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health (HLM4) Prime Minister Browne will deliver the National Statement on Friday during the General Debate.
The Prime Minister’s programme also includes bilateral meetings—including with the Green Climate Fund, the Federal Chancellor of Austria, and the Foreign Minister of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela—as well as engagements with regional partners and SIDS allies.
Prime Minister Browne said: “At UNGA 80, Antigua and Barbuda will press for delivery at scale—from climate and development finance that SIDS can actually access, to mental health and NCDs that demand political leadership, to gender equality and youth opportunity that power inclusive growth. Our message is simple: commitments must translate into concrete outcomes for our people.”
The Antigua and Barbuda delegation includes Foreign Minister, the Hon. E. P. Chet Greene; Minister for Health, Wellness and the Environment, Sir Molwyn Joseph; Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Walton Webson and a number of the country’s Ambassadors and diplomatic staff from the country’s UN Mission in New York.
Prime Minister Browne returns to Antigua on Saturday 27 September.
