PINA

The Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) recognised the desire of some members for a visa-free Pacific. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad said visa-free travel will allow for deep and meaningful regional integration. Prasad said a visa-free PIF region is also the surest way of responding to the continuous loss of skills and knowledge in the region. He...

By SONJA STEFANOVSKA-TRAJANOSKA, Anti-Corruption Adviser, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Challenges We Face Today, the world is grappling with a severe climate crisis that is causing devastating weather conditions in many parts of the world. The Pacific region is in the front line of this crisis and many Pacific Islands countries have experienced the destructive impact of climate change directly. Today,...

The need to build new a structured engagement mechanism and pursue new approaches to strengthen collaboration between providers and users of climate information, is one of the outcomes of the joint meeting of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) in the Pacific. The two-day meeting in Nadi, Fiji from 10-11 August 2023, is...

Samoa's option to take advantage of changed eligibility laws in rugby has created pre-World Cup interest in how the side's former internationals from other nations impact the event starting in France next month. British rugby writer Brendan Gallagher said in The Rugby Paper that Samoa was one of the Pacific Island nations that would benefit from players 'giving back' to...

Canada coach Kingsley Jones has made three changes to his starting lineup for Monday's rugby test match with Tonga. The 23rd-ranked Canadian men lost 28-3 to the 15th-ranked Pacific Islanders in the opening test last Wednesday in the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa. Sion Parry, who won his first cap off the bench in the first Tonga match, starts at openside flanker...

Hundreds of participants from close to 30 countries marched in the early hours of Saturday in Apia to mark the official opening of the International Vaa Federation World Distance Championship 2023. The parade and official opening concluded at the Tamaligi shores in Apia where guests were welcomed in an ava ceremony, entertainment, prayer, and words of encouragement from the Prime...

Pacific Islands Forum Troika leaders are meeting in Suva for the first time Friday. The Troika leaders include Cook Islands Prime Minister and Forum Chair, Mark Brown, former Forum chair and Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and incoming Forum Chair, Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni. Prime Minister Brown told journalists the three leaders will discuss how the Forum Troika mechanism...

Vanuatu has a new brand identity for climate information – Klaemet Save. This exciting new brand has been developed to focus attention on information products that increase the ability of Vanuatu’s people to plan for and respond to climate impacts. Klaemet Save is an initiative of the Climate Information Services for Resilient Development in Vanuatu Project, known in Vanuatu by its...

By Randy Mulyanto Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape is a busy host. Once a sleepy town, Port Moresby, the country’s capital, is now a buzzing diplomatic destination with VIP planes queueing up to land at its airport. China’s recently reappointed Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited in June 2022, at the end of a trip to eight Pacific Island...

Vanuatu Opposition Leader Bob Loughman Thursday said they still have enough numbers to oust the Prime Minister and form the next government. The Speaker of Parliament adjourned the no confidence session to Wednesday next week because there was no quorum. The Opposition side turned up with 25 members while the government boycotted the session. Previously, the Opposition Bloc claimed it has...