The Tongan Government is currently preparing to host some of the high-level officials and ministers from member countries of the Pacific Community – SPC.
The 55th meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations, as well as the 14th Conference of the Pacific Community, will be held in Nuku’alofa from 14–17 October.
The SPC’s Polynesia Regional Office, based in Tonga, is supporting the Tongan Government in preparing to host these important meetings.
In an interview with the Polynesia Regional Office Director — Elsie Fukofuka explained these meetings are held every two years at the ministerial level and are usually hosted in Noumea at the SPC headquarters.
“The last time Tonga hosted this meeting was in 2009, so it has been a couple of years since we last hosted,” Fukofuka stated.
She says they are looking forward to welcoming the ministers and the conference next week.
“It’s really exciting for us as an organisation to be here and supporting the government of Tonga in their hosting obligations and preparation for the CRGA and conference which is a very important meeting for us.”
“I think particularly for us here at the Polynesia Regional office being quite a very new office, it’s a very exciting and it’s a huge honour for us to be part of this process in welcoming our member countries and territories to the Kingdom of Tonga and to be part and share this milestone for Tonga”
Fukofuka stated that this is a great opportunity for Tonga — not only to further enhance our standing in the Pacific and commitment to regional cooperation and leadership, but hosting the meeting provides great benefit and opportunity for the whole country.
“Indeed we realise that this is not the first time Tonga has hosted a regional or international meeting so the great benefit for us is riding on the success that Tonga has had in the past in hosting these meetings. We’re very honoured as an organisation to have His Royal Highness the Crown Prince chair this ministerial meeting, it is an important meeting for our members.”
She highlighted that Tonga has successfully hosted regional and international meetings previously so there haven’t been too many challenges in preparation for this meeting.
“Tonga is not new to hosting regional and international meetings of this scale so it’s been quite easy for us to be able to prepare for this meeting, because of the great history of hosting by the Kingdom of Tonga. We’re also very grateful for the partnerships that we have on the ground with our various stakeholders including our line ministries who have really been supportive and excited by the prospect of Tonga hosting this meeting.”
A key feature of this year’s meeting is the selection of a new Director-General who will lead the organisation from 2026 onward.
“One of the other highlights of this meeting will be the selection of the news Director-General. So the current Director-General Dr Stuart Michin completes his term this year, after having served the SPC for 6 years. Members countries and territories at this biennial conference of the minister will select the new Director-General or the person that they feel should be leading the organisation for the next three to six years.”
These high-level meetings bring together leaders and officials from SPC’s 27 members to review progress, discuss regional priorities, and set the organisation’s strategic direction for the year ahead. The theme of this year’s meeting is: ‘Pasifiki: Rooted in Heritage, Honouring the Past, United for a Resilient Future’.
