PINA

Leaders from 54 countries will gather in Kigali, Rwanda, this week for the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the sixth time the event has been hosted by an African country. The week-long summit is expected to attract over 5,000 participants from government, business, and civil society under the theme ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming’. Meetings begin in...

Australia’s new Labor government has been called on to prove its commitment to climate action and support for Pacific countries by backing a campaign led by Vanuatu to see international law changed to recognise climate change harm. In a letter to the prime minister sent by leading Pacific and Australian NGOs, shared exclusively with Guardian Australia, the groups urged Anthony...

United States and Marshall Islands leaders said after completing the first round of talks last week that they hope to complete negotiations to renew provisions of an economic and security treaty by the end of this year. Washington sees extension of funding packages under compacts of free association with the Marshall Islands and neighbors Federated States of Micronesia and Palau...

The meeting of Trade Ministers at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva has reached an agreement on prohibiting some fisheries subsidies, which however will negatively impact developing island nations in the Pacific. After long hours of negotiations, a draft agreement- a truncated version of previous texts, circulated to ministers this morning was accepted and negotiations on the issue will...

Following 21 years of negotiations, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies has been reached and endorsed by the World Trade Organisation 12th Ministerial Conference. Fiji being the Pacific Trade Ministers Chair led the final green room negotiations to get the Agreement over the line. Minister for Commerce and Trade, Faiyaz Koya, led the powerful 62 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific...

In an unprecedented result, French Polynesia's three seats in the French National Assembly have been won by the candidates of the pro-independence Tavini Huiraatira Party. Among the three is Tematai Le Gayic, who as a 21-year-old has become the youngest person to be elected to the French legislature. Provisional results show he narrowly defeated Nicole Bouteau of the ruling Tapura Huiraatira...

The New Zealand Government quietly dumped a $500m (US$315 million) climate change plan for the sinking Pacific island nation of Kiribati - after spending millions of dollars on consultants and reports. Half of the atoll’s 110,000 inhabitants live on the crowded capital island of Tarawa, which is increasingly vulnerable to flooding and storm surges. Its sea levels are predicted to...

Pacific security issues can and should be dealt with by regional nations, Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa said on Friday, while adding that China's size made it an attractive economic partner. China's growing influence in the Pacific and the potential for militarisation in its small island nations has fanned concerns among neighbours Australia and New Zealand as well as...

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she had a “constructive” and “wide-ranging” discussion with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, which included addressing concerns over a recent bilateral security agreement between the Pacific Island nation and China. “Australia's view does remain that the Pacific family should remain responsible for our security - and the Pacific family is more than capable of...

World Trade Organisation(WTO) members successfully concluded the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva on 17 June, securing multilaterally negotiated outcomes on a series of key trade initiatives. The “Geneva Package” confirms the historical importance of the multilateral trading system and underlines the important role of the WTO in addressing the world’s most pressing issues, especially at a time when global...