PINA

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon, and a slew of ministers are set to visit Samoa next week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship. The treaty between New Zealand and Samoa was signed in 1962 two months after the Pacific islands nation became the first to achieve independence, having...

Greenpeace is urging the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to halt plans the environmental group claims will allow destructive deep-sea mining to begin – starting in the Pacific. The ISA Council is meeting in Jamaica this week to discuss regulations that will determine where and how the sea floor can be mined. But Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner James Hita has accused the ISA...

By Sanjeshni Kumar The rest of the world is now waking up to what the Pacific has been warning about for decades. This statement was made by COP26 president Alok Sharma at Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji Islands while calling on world leaders to recognise the urgency of climate action. He said Pacific is forced to deal with the...

The Micronesian Games Council (MGC) confirmed Nauru will host the 2026 Micronesian Games during a virtual meeting held Saturday, 23 July. The MGC voted unanimously on the Nauru National Olympic Committee (NOC) Micronesian Games Association’s (MGA) bid to host the Games. The bid is supported by the Nauru Government and will have four years to prepare for the quadrennial event. President Lionel...

By Samson Samasoni Since 1925, Tokelau has been a New Zealand ‘colony’. That’s set to change – but this trio of atolls 500km north of Sāmoa has much to consider before choosing which path to take. In a decision our foreign affairs ministry describes as “momentous”, Tokelau’s future is again on the agenda. And potentially, Aotearoa may have to redefine...

The Pacific is forced to deal with the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions generated largely by emerging countries that are a long way from the region. COP26 President, Alok Sharma, highlighted this Wednesday at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, while speaking on the Glasgow Climate Pact and the road to COP27 which will be held later this year. “This is not...

University of the South Pacific (USP) student Salote Nasalo has pleaded to COP26 President Alok Sharma about the future of the Pacific people as she realises that taking up a post-graduate diploma in climate change will not solve the problem. Speaking at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the 32-year-old says she thought it would be a piece of cake, but...

As Monkeypox cases reach over 18,000 in 78 countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO)on Wednesday, recommended targeted vaccination for those exposed to someone infected and those at high risk of exposure, including health workers, laboratory workers and people with multiple sexual partners. “At this time, we do not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox”, the agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus told...

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa and delegation that includes five Cabinet Ministers and officials, were welcomed by American Samoa Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga on arrival at Tafuna Airport Wednesday. It is Matafa’s first official visit as Prime Minister since she took office a year ago this week and will be resuming the Samoa Talks last held before travel disruptions...

The Pacific Islands Forum is torn between competing influences. This will have consequences for the Forum’s cohesion. By Professor Stephanie Lawson Just a few years ago, Oceania’s premiere regional organisation, the Pacific Islands Forum (hereafter “the Forum”) appeared to be going from strength to strength. Under the leadership of Secretary-General, Dame Meg Taylor, in office from 2014-2021, the Forum had...