Solomon Islands urges Pacific leaders to turn regional commitments into action and strengthen the Forum’s strategic position.
Solomon Islands has called on Pacific Islands Forum Leaders to translate years of regional commitments into concrete action, urging the Forum to sharpen its priorities and strengthen its strategic position in a rapidly changing global environment.
Speaking at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Plenary Meeting today in Koror, Minister of Foreign Affairs & External Trade (MFAET), Rick Houenipwela, challenged Leaders to reflect on whether the Forum’s decisions are delivering meaningful outcomes for Pacific peoples.
Minister Houenipwela said this year’s Leaders Meeting presented an opportunity to assess whether the Forum’s commitments over the years have translated into meaningful outcomes for Pacific peoples.
“As we gather for our 55th Leaders Meeting, building on 54 Communiqués and anticipating the 55th by the end of this week, it is timely that we pause and ask ourselves honestly, whose priorities have we truly been serving?” he said.
He said the question must be considered against a rapidly changing international environment marked by geopolitical competition, conflict, financial pressures, climate change, regional security challenges and technological change.
“The world is changing, but our region must not change its principles and values. Rather, it must change its strategic posture,” Minister Houenipwela said.
He identified the Review of the Regional Architecture (RRA) as a pivotal opportunity for Leaders to determine what the Forum should prioritise and how it should position itself over the coming decade.
“This review is not a technical exercise for officials alone. It is our opportunity, as Leaders, to decide what this region truly prioritises and how it positions itself for the decade ahead,” he said.
Solomon Islands also supports reopening discussions on separating the Forum Leaders Meeting from the Forum Dialogue Partners process.
Minister Houenipwela said the Forum’s expanding membership and growing external engagement make it important for Leaders to have dedicated space to deliberate on Pacific priorities, while providing Dialogue Partners with a substantive and well-structured engagement.
“This is not a diminishment of partnerships. It is the discipline that will sustain our Forum and protect its integrity in decades to come,” he said.
He stressed that the Forum’s direction must remain anchored in the UN Charter, international law and Pacific frameworks, including the Oceans of Peace Declaration.
Minister Houenipwela called for greater regional integration where it delivers tangible benefits and reform where existing institutions no longer meet the region’s needs, underpinned by a genuinely One-CROP Pacific.
“Our answer is a region that works collectively, prioritises deliberately, and engages the world from strength grounded in our own interests, not from positions handed to us by others,” he said.
He urged Leaders to ensure the 55th Forum Meeting is remembered not simply for its Communiqué, but for the priorities it establishes and the decisions that follow.
“Let this 55th Leaders Meeting be remembered not for its Communiqué, but for its resolve,” he said.
Source// Office of Prime Minister Press Release
