Senior officials from the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Immigration (MFAI) joined with officials from member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum to discuss the Implementation Plan for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
The Cook Islands has played a leading role in developing the Implementation Plan for the 2050 Strategy, which aims to drive regional cooperation and execute regional collective actions.
Senior officials reviewed the monitoring, evaluation, and learning mechanisms for the plan and considered the role, methodologies, and structure of Thematic Advisory Groups (TAG), which will serve as the technical arm for implementation, aligned with a thematic area of the 2050 Strategy.
Chargé d’Affaires for the Cook Islands High Commission to Fiji, Antonina Browne, underscored the need for transparency in TAG’s operations to ensure members have clarity on its functions, decision-making processes, and reporting structures, “The TAG will help ensure that regional collective actions are driven by robust evidence, are adequately resourced, and are strategically aligned with regional development priorities. Its role must remain adaptive and fit-for-purpose, enabling effective responses to emerging challenges and opportunities as implementation progresses across the Blue Pacific”.
A key focus for officials was the Review of the Regional Architecture (RRA), aimed at ensuring regional organisations are fit for purpose and structured to support member countries effectively.
The update on implementation efforts emphasised the need for institutional coordination to ensure alignment, avoid duplication, and ultimately contribute to development outcomes at the community level within forum member states.
Discussions were had on the High-Level Political Talanoa, during which select high-level representatives will consult with Leaders and Senior Officials to guide the next steps in the RRA.
MFAI Director for Pacific and Regional Affairs Teuru Passfield, emphasised the importance of a robust regional architecture that would deliver development outcomes for Pacific communities, “The success of the 2050 Strategy hinges on the ability of member governments to work collaboratively with our regional organisations by ensuring our regional mechanisms are fit for purpose and delivering for our peoples. This is not just about plans on paper; rather, it is about holding ourselves as governments and as regional organisations to account to ensure the regional collective actions we’ve articulated collectively are being implemented and are supporting development outcomes within Pacific communities.”
The recommendations of officials will feed into Phase Three of the Review of the Regional Architecture which will be considered by officials and ministers leading up to the annual Forum Leaders meeting in the Solomon Islands in September.
