Pacific Islands Forum

The Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, one of the highest ranked U.S officials to visit Samoa, made a brief 2-hour stopover at the Faleolo International Airport last Friday to meet with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa as part of her Pacific region tour. 

 Sherman was asked on the possibility of relaxing biosecurity rules in the territory to allow Samoa to export meat and other products to the territory. 

 In response the top diplomat said she appreciates that trade rules sometimes create barriers that don’t make common sense. 

The '2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent' was endorsed by regional heads of governments on 14 July, as the curtains fell on the 51st Forum Leaders' Meeting in Suva.

"As Pacific Leaders, our vision is for a resilient Pacific Region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, that ensures all Pacific peoples can lead free, healthy and productive lives," the 2050 strategy's leaders' vision states.

Forum chairman and Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said the new regional blueprint "is about who we are".

Jacinda Ardern is attending the forum alongside Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta.

The funding announced for Pacific crop seeds this afternoon allowed the preservation of the region's biodiversity, "which is incredibly important to all of us", Ardern said.

She said it was important for the region to move away as much as possible from the reliance on fossil fuels.

Mr. Puna said this Sunday while officially opening the media masterclass of the 51st PIF Leaders Meeting in Suva, Fiji.
This PIF Meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting in three years.
“What three years it has been with pandemic disruption and recovery alongside the ongoing challenges of the climate crisis, and the ongoing geostrategic and geopolitical priorities and interests in our region as well,” he said.
Mr. Puna said the Pacific media, in the last 12 months, had reported 50 years of the Pacific regional family and the challenges that it had faced.

Speaking to Journalists yesterday (Sunday) Henry Puna says the Pacific Islands 2050 Strategy has been tailored towards addressing challenges and opportunities for Pacific Islands States in the next 50 years.

He says Pacific leaders who are currently in Suva Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting will be discussing the Strategy and put the strategy forward for adoption at the end of the meeting.

Prime ministers from Australia and Papua New Guinea are expected to fly into Suva tonight, however the empty seats with Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Nauru name tags will not be filled.

This morning's meeting for leaders, observers and associate members was opened by Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama, who acknowledged the 'breakdown in communication' with the Micronesian bloc.

He called on the leaders to remember the necessity of re-establishing "our family bonds".

It was revealed at the weekend that the Kiribati president Taneti Maamau was not attending the gathering, and his nation had formally withdrawn from the Forum.

Nauru's Lionel Aingimea was also understood to not be attending, ostensibly because of the soaring levels of Covid-19 in his country.

Now, Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown has also pulled out, and said he wants to focus on the election, which is to be held in three weeks.

Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said the federal government's new climate target had been well supported by nations in the region and a sign of improved ties amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

“Our renewed and increased action on climate change has been welcomed by Pacific island nations,” Conroy told ABC Radio on Monday.

“There's a real enthusiasm on Australia's climate policy, a palpable sense of relief that we have finally listened to the region's priorities ... it's giving us a huge opportunity to rebuild our relationship with the Pacific.

He was 67.

 “We are shocked and saddened upon learning about the passing of former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. Leaders around the world knew him as a man deeply devoted to his country,"  Governor Lou Leon Guerrero and Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio said in a statement.

 Held at the Holiday Inn hotel in Suva Fiji, the media were brief ahead of the public launch of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific which has been embargoed until after the official launch. 

 In opening the media training, Puna noted the first face to face summit for the leaders since 2019 and the first return to the forum at the PIF Secretariat for a long time.

 “Pandemic disruptions and recovery alongside the ongoing challenges of the climate crisis, and the ongoing geostrategic and geopolitical priorities and interests in our region as well,” he said.