The 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM) was held in Nuku’alofa, gathering over 1,000 participants including delegates, activists, observers, and journalists from around the world. Except for Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau, who could not attend due to his country’s elections, all 18 Forum member nations were represented.
In his opening remarks, Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa emphasized the urgency for action, indicating that the time for discussion had passed. This call primarily targeted Forum partners and set a standard to evaluate the meeting’s outcomes.
A significant initiative announced was the establishment of the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF). However, efforts to secure financial support from external partners have been challenging. The European Union is still considering its involvement, with Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen stating they are exploring funding opportunities. Meanwhile, a senior UK official confirmed a commitment of £1.3 million ($F3.82 million) in technical assistance but mentioned that a direct pledge to the PRF could not be made until its structure is fully established.
The agenda for this meeting was expanded, addressing high-profile issues such as the situation in New Caledonia, along with the inclusion of health and education as permanent agenda topics at the suggestion of Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni. The only agreed action point in these categories was to create a regional health workforce strategy aimed at enhancing training and retention of healthcare professionals for Pacific Health Ministers’ consideration.
Despite the significance of health and education, adding these topics to the leaders’ agenda seems to diverge from the 2013 Morauta review’s intent, which advocated for using the summit primarily for critical collective political decisions. In 2015, the Framework for Pacific Regionalism limited agenda items to five key issues: climate change, fisheries, West Papua, ICT, and cervical cancer, with the latter now fading from focus.
The broadening of the agenda, alongside geopolitical tensions, has stalled progress on other crucial matters. Leaders had previously requested the Review of Regional Architecture for their review by this year’s meeting, which was not completed. Additionally, the concept of a “Zone of Peace” proposed last year by Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has seen little development and is now referred to as the “Ocean of Peace.” The Secretariat has been tasked with creating a draft concept for the next meeting in the Solomon Islands.
As delays and extended timelines accumulate, the effectiveness of the Pacific Islands Forum in maintaining focus and achieving significant political outcomes is increasingly jeopardized. The situation surrounding West Papua exemplifies this challenge, with this year’s communiqué merely noting the report from special envoys without substantial progress. During the closing press conference, leaders from Cook Islands, Tonga, and Solomon Islands expressed their commitment to ensuring a visit to West Papua by Forum special envoys before the next meeting, although specific plans have yet to be revealed.