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Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta, front right, with Pacific Islands Forum counterparts in Suva.
Aotearoa New Zealand is “deeply committed” to our Pacific whānau to strengthen our co-operation, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta says.
Mahuta is attending the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Fiji, chaired by Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown.
Mahuta said they aim to share ways to combat the Blue Pacific Continent‘s challenges.
One of the challenges is the China-United States competition in the region.
China began what many experts are calling “Beijing’s largest-ever military exercise” in the Pacific this week.
According to media reports, the Chinese navy had deployed an aircraft carrier and dozens of ships and warplanes in a major show of force aimed at pushing back any pressure from Washington.
The drills, which appear to target Taiwan, are believed to be in response to recent military exercises between the US and its allies – Japan, Australia, Canada, and the Philippines.
NZ High Commission, Suva
It’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori! Staff at New Zealand’s High Commission in Suva sing waiata ‘Tūtira mai ngā iwi’. (Video first published on February 4, 2022)
The five-year implementation plan for the 2050 Strategy, endorsed by forum leaders in Suva in July 2022, is being discussed at the Suva summit including global and regional strategic trends and dynamics, climate change, and a revitalised gender equality declaration.
Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna said the talks included key engagement and advocacy priorities, including the preparation for the 78th UN General Assembly and Biden’s US-Pacific summit, the upcoming PIF leaders meeting, COP28, and Japan’s release of treated Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
He said ministers also considered the outcomes of recent ministerial meetings including women leaders, economic, and fisheries.
“There is still much work to do.”
In August, the forum’s economic ministers met in Suva and tough questions were asked about the regional political institution’s role in confronting the climate crisis, lack of progress in sustainable development, and growing vulnerabilities in the Pacific.
Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad said a “business as usual” approach to these challenges would be “the surest way to disaster for the entire region”.
Pacific Islands Forum
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna says on top of the programmes around the 2050 Strategy, international engagement and advocacy, “there is much work to do”.
Taking a swipe at the region’s development partners including New Zealand, Australia and the US, Prasad said Pacific communities were struggling, and it was “time to act”.
Mahuta said the foreign ministers’ talanoa could build consensus on the climate crisis, regional security and “ensuring we continue to work together to maintain strong regional unity.
“As Pacific partners, kanohi ki te kanohi, how the region can continue to work together in response to the many pressures affecting Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, and in ways that support Pacific priorities and enhance Pacific mana.
“This will include agreeing to an implementation plan for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent – our region’s North Star, guiding us as we work together and with our partners to secure the future of our region.
“Engagement that recognises, advances and reinforces Pacific leadership on security, and on climate ambition and climate resilience, is also critical to maintaining strong regional unity – and to supporting security and prosperity, both for the Pacific and here, in Aotearoa New Zealand,” Mahuta said.
She also held separate bilateral meetings with other forum counterparts before visiting Adi Cakobau School on Friday.
The five-year implementation plan for the 2050 Strategy is scheduled to be ratified at the forum leaders’ meeting in Rarotonga in November.
