Mr. President, even as we work to restore trust, our world is transforming. Climate change is no longer tomorrow's warning; it is today's drought in Africa, floods in Asia, rising seas in the Pacific, and wildfires in Europe and the Americas. For Botswana, custodian of the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Kgalagadi ecosystem, climate change directly affects livelihoods, water security, and biodiversity. Botswana remains committed to the 30-by-30 target and the sustainable management of our natural capital.

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Pacific leaders have charted a practical roadmap through the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity, UBPP. Launched at COP28 and reinforced by the Pacific Leaders' Ocean Statement adopted in Palau, UBPP unites 22 Pacific countries and territories to mobilize accessible catalytic investment for 100 percent sustainable ocean management, robust food systems, and resilient livelihoods, advancing our shared 30-by-30 commitment. We continue to seek and expand investment to the UBPP to meet its goals and deliver lasting resilience for our communities. Palau is translating that UBPP vision into national action. We have launched our Sustainable Ocean Policy that commits 100 percent effective, science-based, and adaptive management of our ocean, balancing protection with production to deliver the optimal benefits for our people. In line with this effort, with support from partners like Japan, we are working to develop fishing ports and other critical infrastructure to truly capture the value of resources harvested in our waters. As Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum and AOSIS, and through Palau's leadership on the High-Level Panel for Sustainable Ocean Economy, we continue to call for an ocean agenda that meets the scale of this challenge.

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The entry into force of the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, which Monaco was one of the first countries to sign and ratify, is a victory of the law over seizure of cooperation over predation. We now need to translate these commitments into acts to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, to finally agree on an ambitious and binding agreement on plastics pollution and exercise extreme caution with regards to deep seabed mining. The ocean is nobody's property. It is everyone's responsibility. Monaco will continue to do its part in this vital task, relying on science, which is the only universal compass. And what goes for the ocean also goes for the climate. The Paris Agreement remains our common framework. Monaco will honour its commitments by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 67.6% by 2035, and by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

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Tonga has committed to protecting at least 30% of our ocean by 2030. Our ratification of the BBNJ Agreement extends that commitment beyond our waters, supporting the protection of marine biodiversity on the high seas. Our task is to navigate a course that safeguards the ocean and unlocks its value to our people. This principle underpins Tonga's ocean strategy. It is in that spirit that we intend to convene a Polynesian Ocean Summit in Tonga in May of 2027, to move from shared ambition to practical action. But our responsibility does not stop at the boundaries of our Pacific continent. Consider the humpback whale. Born in Tonga's warm oceans, it migrates to Antarctica to feed on krill before returning to the Pacific to escape the winter and breed. Tonga's sanctuary protects them but their survival depends on healthy ecosystems at both ends of that journey. What happens in the southern seas of Antarctica is felt in the southern oceans of Tonga. So we invite partners to join us in Tonga with practical commitments that recognise the scale and interconnectedness of our shared ocean corridors. Mr. President, the same principle extends across our development. Interconnection must not be dependency. For Tonga, resilience means taking greater control of the forces, shaping our future and turning the resources within our geography into greater self-sufficiency.

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