The 53rd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting, which is taking place in Tonga, is an opportunity for PIF to outline a common vision on the path of development while affirming its voice in solving global issues.
With an important position on the world's "strategic chessboard", Pacific island countries have increasingly strong appeal. In mid-July, Japan hosted the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10), an event that is considered an opportunity for Tokyo to expand its influence.
The 53rd PIF Leaders Meeting is expected to contribute to removing bottlenecks in the development process of island countries. This year's event attracted special attention from the international public, as it gathered the participation of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and more than 1,000 international delegates, with an agenda covering a series of hot issues in the region such as economic recovery, ensuring security, dealing with transnational drug trafficking, mobilising climate finance, and protecting the environment.
In his opening speech, Baron Waqa, PIF Secretary-General and former President of Nauru, emphasised that the meeting was held at an important time in the region's history, when Pacific island nations stood at the centre of global geopolitical interests.
With an important position on the world's "strategic chessboard", Pacific island countries have increasingly strong appeal. In mid-July, Japan hosted the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10), an event that is considered an opportunity for Tokyo to expand its influence.
Meanwhile, Washington has also made efforts to strengthen its ties with the region through a series of strategic steps such as organising the US-PIF Leader's Summit, establishing diplomatic relations with two island nations — the Cook Islands and Niue — and continuously opening new embassies in Solomon, Tonga and most recently Vanuatu.
US President Joe Biden once emphasised that the Pacific Islands are a critical voice in shaping the future, which is why Washington administration has made it a priority to strengthen their partnership with the region. Australia, New Zealand, India, the UK are also making efforts to not be left behind in this battle for influence.
The attention and support of the international community is an opportunity for island nations to attract aid to develop their economies and address the biggest threat to the region: climate change. The island nations are bearing the heaviest losses from global warming.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed out that although the Pacific region contributes just 0.02% of global carbon emissions, island nations in the region are on the front lines of the climate crisis, dealing with extreme weather events from raging tropical cyclones to record ocean heatwaves.
It is also a fight for survival as the Pacific sea level is rising faster than the global average, threatening the lives of millions of people, even putting some areas at risk of destruction. Scientists warn that Tuvalu could be almost completely wiped off the map within the next 30 years.
Despite being the main victim, the small amount of support from major countries has not been adequate for the region to cope with natural disasters. Climate finance continues to be a difficult problem as the target of mobilising 500 million USD for the Pacific Resilience Fund (PRF) by 2026 is at risk of being missed.
The PRF was proposed to help Pacific island countries easily access financial resources for projects to adapt to climate change and prevent and promptly respond to disasters. Therefore, experts said that the conference in Tonga is an opportunity for island countries to call for the cooperation of the international community, especially in implementing the PRF, while affirming a stronger role in solving global problems.
Analysts expect that with the determination of countries in the region and more active support from the international community, the 53rd PIF Leaders Meeting will open a brighter new chapter in the development process of Pacific island countries.
