Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will travel to Fiji this week to attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Suva, with the ministers’ session scheduled for Thursday.
A founding member of the Forum, Senator Wong said Australia “strongly supports the Forum’s role in strengthening regional unity and pursuing our shared vision for a peaceful, stable, prosperous and unified region.” She underlined Australia’s commitment to being “a partner the region can count on,” and said Canberra is working with Pacific nations to advance shared priorities and shape a peaceful, stable and prosperous “Blue Pacific.”
The Forum Officials Committee (FOC) pre-forum began yesterday at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva. That two-day officials’ meeting brings together senior officials from member countries to prepare the agenda and reach consensus on issues that will be taken forward by foreign ministers. Key topics under discussion include regional security, climate action, ocean governance, economic resilience and people-centred development; outcomes from the FOC will guide the ministers’ deliberations on Thursday.
This visit continues a pattern of close engagement between Australia and Pacific Island countries. Reports indicate the agenda is expected to include Australia’s proposal to host COP31 in collaboration with Pacific nations to help spotlight the urgent climate impacts on the region. It is also noted that Australia’s Ambassador for First Nations People, Justin Mohamed, will accompany Senator Wong, reflecting an effort to incorporate First Nations perspectives into Australia’s Pacific engagement.
Wong is also scheduled to visit the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva and to take part in announcements relating to the hospital’s infrastructure masterplan—demonstrating Canberra’s practical development cooperation alongside high-level diplomatic talks.
Additional comments and context:
– The FOC pre-meeting is important because it helps build technical consensus and clears the way for ministers to make decisions efficiently; it is where detailed recommendations are shaped into ministerial outcomes.
– Australia’s framing of the “Blue Pacific” and its emphasis on partnership signal a diplomatic approach that combines security, development and climate resilience—areas where coordinated regional action can produce more durable results than isolated national efforts.
– Items to watch from the ministers’ meeting include any concrete outcomes on climate finance, disaster preparedness, ocean governance, and regional security cooperation, plus clarity on the COP31 proposal and timelines.
Hopeful note:
A collaborative PIF outcome that advances climate action, economic resilience and people-centred development would strengthen regional unity and create momentum for tangible support to island nations facing immediate climate and economic pressures.
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