Dominica’s Vince Henderson calls for stronger solar resilience and cooperation for SIDS at ISA 2025

Dominica: Vince Henderson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Dominica was among the key participants at the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly taking place in India. Speaking on Day 3 of the event, he highlighted the resilience of modern solar infrastructure during extreme weather conditions and cited the recent impacts of Hurricane Melissa across the Caribbean.

The Minister emphasised that Small Island Developing States (SIDS) remain on the frontline of climate change and therefore must be given due consideration in global energy and climate policy discussions.

During his address, he expressed his gratitude to the Director General of the ISA, Ashish Khanna, for giving a comprehensive presentation and placing the focus on small island developing states with the launch of the SIDS platform.

“We do hope that this initiative, in addition to assisting in joint procurement of equipment for solar PV, will also bring greater focus through the Star SIDS programmes and centres to study the impacts of hurricanes, in particular on the installation of solar PV,  as we speak and as we meet here today,” he said.

The Energy Minister went on to highlight that while he was there speaking, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other countries in the Northern Caribbean are under the threat of Hurricane Melissa.

Minister Vince Henderson went on to mention Hurricane Melissa, which has intensified into a Category 5 system and is expected to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, October 23, 2025. He highlighted that the hurricane is now barreling toward the Northern Caribbean islands with unprecedented wind speeds.

“We do hope that with a greater focus on building resilience from solar distributive generation as well as installations that can withstand the impact of storms and hurricanes, we can focus on a regional collaboration and partnership to build resilience using solar PV,” added the Dominican minister.

Minister Henderson ended on a hopeful note, urging international partners to strengthen cooperation with Small Island Developing States, as these nations remain among the most vulnerable to climate change. He noted that only through joint action, knowledge-sharing and equitable investment can the global community ensure that no nation is left behind in the transition to renewable energy.