PINA

Chairman of the Tuvalu Broadcasting Corporation ( TVBC) Board of Directors is the successful candidate for the other Nanumaga seat in the House of Parliament. Reverend Dr Kitiona Tausi received 240 votes in the Nanumaga by-election held Friday. Acting Secretary to Government – Dr Tufoua Panapa when announcing the results of the By-election for Nanumaga, congratulated Rev Tausi for being elected...

By Pita Ligaiula The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting has ended in Fiji with the endorsement of the Suva Agreement. This was confirmed by the Forum Chair and Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama during a press conference at the Forum Secretariat in Suva. Bainimarama said the leaders recognised the Suva Agreement as a political commitment to reform the Pacific Islands Forum...

By Nic Maclellan The Cook Islands representative to the Pacific Islands Forum, Tepaeru Herrmann says they respect Kiribati’s decision to withdraw from the Forum, but that upholding the decision to appoint former Henry Puna to the Secretary-General’s position is of great importance. Prime Minister Mark Brown is preparing for national elections on 01 August, so Cook Islands’ representative at the...

The Special Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders Summit successfully concluded Wednesday with the handing over of the MSG Chairmanship from Papua New Guinea to Vanuatu in a moving ceremony in Fiji. The Summit was attended by Fiji's Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama; Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare; Vanuatu Prime Minister, Bob Loughman, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, James Marape and...

Telstra has completed its acquisition of Digicel Pacific on behalf of the federal government, which funded the majority of the US$1.6 billion (AUD$2.4 billion) purchase price out of fears Beijing could pick up the assets and use it to spy on Australia and its closest neighbours. Telstra contributed just US$270 million to the deal, and said the tax dispute with...

By Pita Ligaiula Fijian Prime Minister and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Voreqe Bainimarama has welcomed the United States renewed engagement to the region by pledging an assistance of US$60 million on Tuna Treaty in next 10 years, a total of US$600 million. The Tuna Treaty Agreement funding was announced Wednesday by U.S Vice President Kamala Harris during her...

Pacific island leaders welcomed a pledge by the United States to triple aid to the region to combat illegal fishing, enhance maritime security and tackle climate change, after decades of stagnant U.S funding. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in a video address to the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva on Wednesday, said U.S funding for Pacific islands would be tripled...

Former Kiribati president Anote Tong suspects a major agreement is “cooking” between Beijing and Tarawa after the country's decision to quit the Pacific Islands Forum. Kiribati President Taneti Maamau's “surprise” announcement to abandon its membership from the region's premier policy and political body at the 51st Forum Leaders' meeting this week has heightened concerns the Micronesian nation is moving closer...

Climate-threatened Pacific islands are pushing for the International Court of Justice to throw its weight behind efforts to arrest climate change, with the initiative gaining support at a key regional summit in Fiji Wednesday. The Pacific nation of Vanuatu is spearheading a campaign to ask The Hague-based tribunal “to protect the rights of present and future generations against the effects...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Solomon Islands counterpart have hugged and greeted each other warmly while meeting face to face for the first time on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Fiji. Tensions between Australia and Solomon Islands have intensified in the wake of Honiara's decision to strike a contentious security pact with China. But the...