Foreign Minister departs for the 52nd PIF Leaders Meeting
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Hon. Jeremiah Manele has left the country yesterday, leading the Solomon Islands delegation to the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting, scheduled to take place in Cook Islands from 6-10 November 2023.
Minister Manele stated that Solomon Islands looks forward to engaging with other Pacific Islands Forum members to determine the organization’s regional policy directives and priorities for the year 2024 during the various engagements in Rarotonga.
Solomon Islands’ key priorities will be promoting important regional issues on the agenda, which will be presented to Pacific Island leaders for their deliberations and endorsement. This includes the Implementation Plan of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which will guide the regions decision-making process with the view to strengthen regional collective actions.
Solomon Islands will also be advocating for regional efforts and developments on the climate change and resilience agenda, including the Pacific Resilience Facility – a distinctive funding mechanism for Pacific Island countries to access critical financing for risk reduction.
Another key priority Solomon Islands looks forward to discussing with Forum Leaders is on regional efforts to pursue economic development, of which Pacific leaders will be discussing the regional priorities related to labour mobility and trade.
The 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting will also be discussing nuclear issues relevant to the region, covering the Rarotonga Treaty and the discharge of the ALPS nuclear treated water into the Pacific Ocean by Japan.
The Foreign Minister will also be undertaking bilateral meetings with key development partners in the margins at the Forum Leaders meeting in Rarotonga. –ENDS//
– PRESS RELEASE, MFAET