Pacific police ministers have agreed to strengthen regional cooperation against transnational organised crime, warning that drug trafficking and criminal networks are threatening the security and stability of Pacific communities.
The agreement came during the first-ever Pacific Police Ministers’ Meeting held as part of the Pacific Transnational Crime Summit in Fiji.
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke and Fiji’s Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua co-hosted the meeting attended by ministers and senior officials from across the Pacific region.
Burke said ministers met in response to growing threats posed by organised crime across the Pacific.
“We came together today with Pacific police chiefs, regional security and industry experts, in recognition of the growing threats that transnational organised crime is having to the collective peace and security of our region,” Burke said.
He said Pacific Islands Forum Leaders had called last year for a coordinated regional response to transnational crime.
“We are here to answer that call.”
Burke said ministers had agreed to report the outcomes of the meeting to Pacific leaders when they meet in Palau later this year.
He also confirmed ministers would ask Forum leaders to consider a formal role for police ministers within the region’s broader security framework.
“Today’s meeting demonstrated the Pacific can meet its own security needs,” Burke said.
“It built on a long history of cooperation in the Pacific policing sector, finding practical solutions to new and emerging challenges.”
Burke reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to supporting Pacific countries in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking.
“Australia stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow Pacific partners in combating transnational crime and stopping drug trafficking in the Pacific,” he said.
Fiji Policing Minister Ioane Naivalurua said ministers had agreed to strengthen Pacific-led and coordinated responses in line with the Pacific Islands Forum Transnational Organised Crime Disruption Strategy.
“This includes bringing forward the development of an intelligence-led, maritime security response to transnational crime,” Naivalurua said.
“We have asked Pacific Islands Forum Leaders to consider this mechanism when they meet in Palau this year.”
Naivalurua welcomed Australia’s support through the Pacific Policing Initiative’s Pinkenba Hub in Brisbane, which is helping build policing capability across the region.
Ministers also agreed to strengthen intelligence sharing on criminal networks and improve regional cooperation on laws, investigations, mutual legal assistance and proceeds of crime measures.
Naivalurua warned that organised crime was directly affecting Pacific communities.
“Our lives and livelihoods have been threatened by transnational criminals. They seek to poison our communities,” he said.
“I was pleased to work with colleagues across the region today in responding to this threat and ensuring our Pacific remains an Ocean of Peace,” he said.
