President James Michel has been invited by former US President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation to speak on a panel on sustainable oceans on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s General Debate by world leaders in New York next week.

President Michel will also address the General Assembly, which organisers have announced will be the largest gathering of heads of state and government ever at the United Nations.

The other panelists at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Special Session on Sustainable Oceans will be the world famous American marine biologist, oceans explorer, author and lecturer Sylvia Earle, who is the founder and chair of The Sylvia Earle Alliance, and American actor, author and producer Ted Danson,who is also a member of the board of directors of Oceana, an NGO billed as the largest international ocean conservation and advocacy organisation.

President Michel has been invited to give his perspective as the leader of an island country that is spearheading the development of a Blue Economy as an innovative way for SIDS to take full ownership of their large ocean territories to develop their islands through the sustainable use of their marine resources while practicing proactive conservation policies for the oceans and seas that surround them.