PINA

Tonga did not face any tier-one opposition ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which has hurt their preparations for the tournament. The Pacific Islanders faced Japan, Samoa and Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup before playing back-to-back matches against Canada, who failed to qualify for the World Cup. The ʻIkale Tahi faced world number one Ireland in their Pool B...

Palau President and chair of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), Surangel Whipps Jr says the slow progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achieved by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to date is an indication that losses linked to vulnerability far outweighs development gains. He told the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, there is...

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa says the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is focused on how they will approach the next seven years to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Addressing the High-Level Political Forum(HLPF) on Sustainable Development in New York on behalf of AOSIS, PM Mata'afa said world leaders have to leave nationalism...

Forum Secretary General, Henry Puna has called on development partners to put aside their self interest and profit motivations and join the Pacific in the fight against climate change. Puna told the Carnegie-SPF 3rd annual Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue in New York, there is no secret that climate change is our greatest single security threat. “We have gone far beyond the threshold...

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has met with Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku, Siaosi Sovaleni in New York. The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister exchanged views on the upcoming 4th SIDS (Small Island and Development States) Conference. Guterres thanked Tonga for hosting the Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting in August. He said the 4th SIDS conference will be an opportunity to deliver transformative...

Marine ecologist, Dr Drew Harvell has articulated the urgent need to protect marine ecosystems, particularly seagrass meadows, in a bid to strengthen climate resilience and secure valuable resources known as "blue foods". In a seminar at the University of the South Pacific (USP) marine campus Monday, Dr Harvell highlighted the multifaceted benefits that seagrass meadows offer to coastal communities and...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Henry Puna has warned the geopolitical contestation and strategic manipulation in contested Blue Pacific are unsettling. Speaking at the Carnegie-SPF 3rd annual Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue in New York, Puna said the Blue Pacific continent is an increasingly contested space. “Regional and national stability is critical to maintaining and protecting peace and security, prosperity, and the well-being...

Pacific island countries will meet next week with U.S President Joe Biden for a second summit with his country, the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Henry Puna said on Monday. Puna made the announcement at an event in New York hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment...

The 2023 Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers meeting has ended with a collective statement on Japan’s release of ALPS treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. In the statement, Forum Foreign Ministers “highlighted the priorities of ensuring international consultation, international law, and independent and verifiable scientific assessments” and re-emphasised “our collective Forum position and the process we have taken over...

Cook Islands Prime Minister and Forum Chair, Mark Brown has confirmed his government is in discussion with Fiji Airways to facilitate a charter flight to Rarotonga during the upcoming Forum Leaders Meeting in November. “I'm happy to say that we have been in discussions with Fiji Airways to look at streamlining the travel from all Pacific members particularly from Nadi...