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During the United Nations International Conference on the future of small island developing states, which started on 10 January in Mauritius, Lithuanian Ambassador to the United Nations Gediminas Šerkšnys was elected Vice-President of the Conference. The aim of the Mauritius Conference is to review the implementation of the Programme of Action adopted ten years ago in Barbados. In 1994 in the course of the United Nations international conference in Barbados countries defined particular actions and measures to support and promote sustainable development of small island states. The importance of this Programme of Action was underlined in the Action Plan for Sustainable Development adopted during the meeting of the heads of states in 2002 in Johannesburg. International Conference in Mauritius, which will continue until 14 January, is attended by about two thousand participants from all over the world with about 20 heads of governments and states and about 35 ministers among them. Representatives of the non-governmental organisations accredited to the UN participate in the meeting along with official delegations. At the opening ceremony Secretary-General of the Conference, UN Under-Secretary-General Anwarul K. Chowdhury encouraged donor states to increase official support for development of these vulnerable small states.