Guyana has undertaken preparations for the Third International Conference on SIDS.The First Conference on SIDS, which was held in 1994, produced the Barbados Programme ofAction (BPOA) while the Second Conference held in 2005, resulted in the Mauritius Strategy ofImplementation (MSI) for the Further Implementation of the BPOA.More recently, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also referredto as RIO+20, called for, the convening in 2014 of a Third International Conference on SIDS. TheConference seeks to:a) Assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the BPOA andthe MSI building on, inter alia, existing reports and relevant processes;b) Seek a renewed political commitment by all countries to effectively address the special needs and vulnerabilities of SIDS by focusing on practical and pragmatic actions for thefurther implementation of the BPOA and MSI, inter alia, through mobilisation of resourcesand assistance for SIDS;c) Identify new and emerging challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development(SD) of SIDS and ways and means to address them including through the strengthening ofcollaborative partnerships between SIDS and the International Community