PINA

UN member states on Monday launched two weeks of negotiations aimed at finally reaching a treaty meant to protect and preserve vast areas of the world's oceans. After more than 15 years of formal and informal talks, this is the third time in less than a year that negotiators have converged on New York in what, yet again, is supposed...

Fiji's Finance Ministry has warned Government against taking on any more debt in the next two years in light of the debt level expected to increase to around $10 billion (US$5 billion)by the end of July this year. In its Medium Term Fiscal Strategy 2024-2026 tabled in Parliament last week, the ministry said Fiji’s debt level had been exhausted and...

Governments resume negotiations Monday at the United Nations in New York to finalise a new High Seas Treaty to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. The two-week Intergovernmental conference is taking place from 20 February to 03 March 2023 and is a resumption of negotiations from August 2022, when governments ran out...

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape arrived in Fiji last night for his official visit in the country this week. His visit signifies Fiji and PNG's longstanding cooperation as members of the Pacific family. Prime Minister Marape will be accorded a traditional welcome ceremony this morning and he will pay a courtesy call to the President, Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere...

-Australian foreign Minister Penny Wong will travel to Kiribati this week on her first visit as Foreign Minister, and Fiji, where she will represent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Pacific Islands Forum Special Leaders’ retreat. “In Kiribati I will meet with President Taneti Maamau and cabinet ministers. “Earlier this month I was honoured to welcome President Maamau to Adelaide. In...

The European Union (EU) has commended our Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sitiveni Rabuka for his exemplary leadership towards Fiji's national development and the Pacific's solidarity. The EU's strong support was conveyed to PM Rabuka during an introductory courtesy call received Monday by the Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union for the Pacific, Sujiro...

-Papua New Guinea acting Prime Minister John Rosso has assured Papua New Guineans, residents and businesses that a short term arrangement has been reached between Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) and PUMA to continue supplying fuel while work is being done to address regulatory requirements of BPNG. He clarifies that the issue between BPNG and PUMA is not shortage...

By Henry Puna, Forum Secretary General & Pacific Ocean Commissioner As our Pacific Forum Leaders gather this week for their Special Retreat in Nadi, Fiji, their leading officials and Oceans negotiators from our Blue Pacific region will be joining the rest of the world at the UN Headquarters in New York. They are there to conclude negotiations for a treaty...

By Joanna Chiu Brown-black discharge gushed out of a pipe from a hulking ship, dispersing murky clouds of sediment into the international waters of the Pacific Ocean. The scene, captured in a video that’s garnered international attention, turned a spotlight to a controversial Canadian company that is poised to become the first in the world to extract critical metals from...

By Jack Graham Delegates from up to 193 UN member states resume talks in New York on Monday in an effort to wrap up negotiations on a long-awaited treaty to protect the world's oceans from overfishing, pollution and other threats. The high seas - areas lying beyond countries' exclusive economic zones - make up nearly two-thirds of the world's oceans,...