Washington D.C.—The Governing Board of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) convened its second meeting on Tuesday to review organizational priorities, strengthen governance arrangements, and guide the Forum’s next phase of leadership and institutional development.
Board members recognized the contributions of H.E. Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives and outgoing Secretary-General of the CVF-V20 Secretariat, whose leadership helped elevate the voices of climate-vulnerable countries in global climate discussions and strengthen the organization’s advocacy on climate justice.
Secretary-General Nasheed was instrumental in the transition toward an independent CVF-V20 Secretariat—a role he was uniquely prepared for, having been part of the foundational effort to establish the CVF in 2009. A bridge-builder and tireless voice for the world’s most vulnerable peoples, his place in the history of climate leadership is written in stone. His remarkable journey from former dissident and political prisoner, to journalist and intellectual, to parliamentarian and the Speaker of the People’s Majlis of the Maldives, to Head of State, and ultimately founder and first Secretary General of the Forum, has helped to accelerate the global campaign for climate justice and vulnerable country prosperity.
The Board lauded Secretary General Nasheed work with the CVF. The sentiments expressed by the Board were echoed by Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados, Chair of the CVF-V20, who said, “We wish him all the best. We look forward to working with Mr. Nasheed in whatever new capacity he assumes in the near future, and we are certainly among the most eager to read his long-awaited storied memoirs as soon as they are published and available to the public.”
The CVF-V20 Board provides strategic oversight of the Secretariat and operates through a Troika structure composed of the current Presidency and the two (2) immediate past presidencies. The current Presidency is held by Barbados, represented by Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Climate Change, Small Island Developing States and the Law of the Sea, and Sherpa to Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, the current Chair. The two (2) immediate past presidencies are the Republic of Ghana, represented by Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability Issifu Seidu, and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, represented by AKM Sohel, of the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Relations Division and Chair of the International Climate Finance Cell.
Leadership and Presidency transition
In February, the CVF-V20 Troika issued a call for nominations from Member States for the next Secretary-General, whose term is expected to begin on 1 January 2027. In line with regional rotation principles, candidates are being sought from Africa, the Pacific, Latin America, or the Caribbean.
In early March, the Troika also issued a call for expressions of interest (EOIs) from Member States to assume the next Presidency of CVF-V20, as part of the organization’s structured leadership transition process.
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The CVF-V20 represents 74 member countries from small island developing states (SIDS), least developed countries (LDCs), low to middle-income countries (LMICs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS). Working together, the CVF-V20 aims to achieve climate justice through the realization of Climate Prosperity Plans, which contain ambitious economic and financial resilience strategies designed to attract investment and resources that advance the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 30×30 Global Biodiversity, and help keep the average global temperatures to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C safety threshold.
Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana (Troika), Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda
Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh (Troika), Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
Caribbean: Barbados (Chair/Troika), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
Latin America: Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay
Middle East: Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen
Pacific: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
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