small island nations Port Louis, Mauritius, Jan 6, SPA -- An early warning system todetect tsunamis before they reach shore is crucial,especially for small island nations, a U.N. under secretarygeneral said Thursday. Anwarul Chowdhury arrived in Mauritius on Wednesday tolead a Jan. 10-14 summit on the needs of small islandnations. Leaders are to review implementation of asustainable development program for island states in thedeveloping world. But attention at the summit will alsoturn to preparing for tsunamis and other disasters. "An early warning system is an absolute must for allkinds of disasters including tsunamis," Chowdhury said."That is how the international community could help thesmall islands because they need very sophisticatedtechnological support. Their resources do not permit themto adopt a sophisticated early warning system." More than 2,000 participants, including 25 heads of state,from island nations, their traditional donors and othercountries were expected in Mauritius for the conference.U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to addressthe conference on Jan. 13.--SPA1149 Local Time 0849 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/230393