Outgoing Pacific Islands Forum Chair Mark Brown Friday emphasised the need for unity and strategic action as the region faces increasing global interest, climate crises, and new security threats.
At the opening of the Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting (FFMM) in Suva, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown urged foreign ministers to strengthen their collective solidarity to navigate the mounting challenges facing the region.
“It’s been a busy year with momentous transitions, not least the appointment of our new Secretary General, Baron Waqa. On behalf of the Forum Ministers, congratulations on your new role,” Brown said, acknowledging the significance of Waqa’s leadership during a critical time.
Brown highlighted the region’s ongoing struggles, including the intensifying climate crisis, growing geostrategic interest, and emerging threats like cyber-attacks and transnational crime.
“We contend with ever-increasing geostrategic interest. We continue to battle a climate crisis that intensifies with every year.
“We navigate new and emerging challenges and threats such as cyber-attacks and transnational crime.
Indeed, I cannot underscore enough the importance of our collective solidarity,” he emphasised.
PM Brown stressed the importance of regional unity in responding to these challenges.
“While we all recognise that our national priorities will always be paramount, we must also recognise that in the face of the uncertainties we contend with today, we must be able to trust and count on the solidarity and support of those closest to us – our Forum Family,” Brown said.
He also called for a more strategic and assertive approach to regional engagement, urging members to ensure that international partners align with the Forum’s priorities and aspirations.
“We can no longer rest on our laurels and depend on the goodwill of others. If we are to attain our shared 2050 vision, we must be more strategic and more assertive in our collective engagement.
“In doing so, we can ensure that partners are supporting our priorities, and our aspirations,” said Brown.
As his tenure as Forum Chair nears its end, Brown reflected on the honour of serving the region and expressed his support for the incoming Chair, Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni.
“It has been an honour and a privilege for my Government, my people and myself to have been entrusted with this role by the Forum membership. In this convening of Foreign Ministers, I thought it only fitting to also acknowledge you all for your support over the last 18 months.
“I wish to also recognise the incoming Forum Chair, Hu’akavameiliku of Tonga and I look forward to handing over the baton when we meet in Tonga at the end of the month,” said Brown.
Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa urged Foreign Ministers to prioritise unity and deliver strong outcomes as they prepare for the upcoming summit in Tonga.
In his first address as Secretary General at the Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Suva, Baron Waqa emphasised the importance of unity and leadership within the Pacific Islands Forum.
“My tenure as Secretary General will be founded on nurturing unity and leadership,” Waqa said. “The collective strength of the Forum is drawn from its unity, and it will only prosper through Forum solidarity.”
With the region in a period of significant transition, Waqa highlighted the critical nature of the ministers’ guidance during the meeting.
“The presence today of our Forum Chair and incoming Forum Chair underscores the importance of this gathering. We all have high expectations,” he said.
Waqa called on the ministers to engage in frank discussions to ensure that the Forum’s leaders are equipped with strong and decisive outcomes ahead of their meeting in Tonga.
“We must provide our Leaders with firm outcomes as they prepare to meet in Tonga,” SG Waqa urged.
