Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda delivered a compelling address at the Family Offices for Sustainable Development (FOSD) Summit, emphasizing the need for global investors to pivot from viewing Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as vulnerable entities to recognizing them as valuable partners in sustainable development. Speaking to an international audience of family offices, philanthropy leaders, and diplomats, Browne highlighted the urgent challenges faced by SIDS, including climate threats and mounting debt burdens, while urging a shift in perception, power, and resources. Browne outlined three critical shifts necessary to transform ambition into action: recognizing SIDS as innovation hubs rather than aid recipients, moving from temporary aid to sustainable investment, and operationalizing solutions through the newly established SIDS Centre of Excellence. He positioned Antigua and Barbuda as the custodian of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), a framework designed to accelerate resilience, unlock sustainable investment, and strengthen sovereignty in data, finance, and diplomacy. Browne called on family offices and institutional investors to align their portfolios with ABAS principles, bring technology and expertise to the SIDS Centre of Excellence, and champion financial instruments that unlock private capital for resilience, blue and green growth, and inclusive development. ‘The choices made in this room will echo for generations,’ Browne concluded, inviting partners to invest in shared prosperity and planetary security.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne Calls for Island-Led Investment and Partnership at Family Offices for Sustainable Development Summit
