 We don't choose to be migrants. It's being forced upon us. And because of the nature of our islands, a very low line, a very marginal rise in sea level is going to have a very, very drastic impact to the extent that much of the land available will be unable to support the current level of population. Unfortunately, climate change is not an issue that can be kept within the borders. It's not a national issue. It's become very much an international issue. And it's got to be viewed as that. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, for low-lying, natural island nations like my country, climate change is an issue of survival, with the very real possibility of our nation disappearing under the ocean within the century. What I want to share with you is that even before it happens, we are already experiencing extreme high tides and more severe storms on an unprecedented magnitude. Damage to homes and severe inundation of the coastline and consequent damage to food crops and portable water are now becoming more frequent events. Based on these experiences, migration in the context of my people's future has therefore taken on a whole new meaning, a whole new dimension. Relocation must therefore be part of our strategy for adaptation. And for us, this involves the preparation of our people for such a possibility. We have, with the assistance of our development partners, embarked on an intensive training program to upskill our people to internationally recognized qualifications. We continue to work with our more developed neighbors in particular Australia and New Zealand through temporary and permanent labor mobility schemes, such as the seasonal workers scheme and the more permanent New Zealand Pacific Access category migration scheme. And most recently, the Northern Australia White Paper for Microstate Pilot Scheme. We believe that these programs offer mutual benefits for all parties involved and may provide suitable models that could be replicated elsewhere and may well be worthy of further study and consideration by Iowa. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, as governments and as leaders, it is our duty. It is our moral obligation to ensure that the future of our people, our children, our grandchildren and their children, is safe and secure. Against the threat of climate change, it is vital that we as a global community act collectively and be as innovative as never before. Iowa has a very crucial role to play, particularly during these times of unprecedented instability in different regions whose impacts are disrupting the lives of men, women, children, whole communities and in time, maybe whole nations.