PINA

The Pacific region will not waver in its climate fight despite the United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, says Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Sefanaia Nawadra. “Our Pacific leaders have time and time again stated that climate change represents the single greatest threat to our region. The U.S decision does...

Cook Islands’ agreement with China will not include any security aspects, Prime Minister Mark Brown assured Thursday. Brown, who is flying to China today with his delegation for a state visit from 10-14 February, will sign a Joint Action Plan for a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, “serving as a framework for engagement and a roadmap for collaboration in the years ahead”. In...

Vanuatu Members of Parliament (MPs) in the coalition alliance and party representatives at their caucus meeting Thursday reconfirmed their numbers before the First Sitting of Parliament. The coalition-appointed taskforce overseeing negotiations to maintain support ahead of the first sitting met and remained solid in their numbers. The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed by party presidents—MP Ralph Regenvanu from Graon mo Jastis...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa has issued a strong call for private finance to play a greater role in supporting Small Island Developing States (SIDS), warning that current investment flows are failing the Pacific region at a time of escalating climate and economic challenges. Speaking at the 2025 OECD Conference on Private Finance for Sustainable Development (CoP-PF4SD) this...

More than 100 children under the age of five die each day in East Asia and the Pacific from air pollution-related causes, said UNICEF, in a call for urgent action to cut deadly emissions, toughen air quality standards and improve health systems. The toll translates to nearly 40,000 deaths annually among children under five in the two regions. The United Nations...

Cook Islands has dropped the controversial passport proposal, Prime Minister Mark Brown confirmed Wednesday, after discussions to convince New Zealand that it would not affect their constitutional relationship fell flat. In an exclusive interview with Cook Islands News, Brown said the proposed Cook Islands passport was “off the table”, after New Zealand “bared its teeth” over the initiative. The passport proposal...

Fiji is keen on expanding its economic cooperation with the United States of America in key areas such as trade agreements, investment partnerships, and technological advancements. This was articulated by the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during a bilateral meeting with the U.S. Acting Under Secretary of State for International Trade, Diane Farell at the Department of Commerce in Washington Wednesday. The...

Fiji's continued presence on the European Union’s list of tax non-cooperative tax jurisdictions was among key issues raised by permanent secretary for Trade Shaheen Ali while addressing Pacific-EU Parliamentary Assembly (DPAC) in Brussels this week. Fiji was put on EU’s tax blacklist in 2019 for the following reasons: • it was not a member of the Global Forum on Transparency and...

Our connections to the Pacific and traditionally independent approach to international politics puts us in a prime position to play an important leadership role Analysis by Guy Fiti Sinclair The international rules-based order has come under increasing stress and strain over the last decade and looks likely to continue on the same rocky path for the foreseeable future. In the...

Fijian Drua Speedster Selestino Ravutaumada has an Olympic silver medal in his keeping, has made a Rugby World Cup quarter-final but the Fijian flyer isn't satisfied. The 25-year-old winger wants to see the Drua lift the Super Rugby Pacific trophy and feels if they can take their home form on the road they will be “unstoppable”. They only lost once in...