Prime Minister Mark Brown is looking forward to handing over the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders chairmanship to Tongan PM as he focuses on his roles back home.

Speaking to Cook Islands News, Brown said the handing of the chairman’s role to incoming chair PM Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni takes place at the beginning of the Leaders Meeting in Tonga.

The meeting will be held from August 26-30, under the theme “Transformative Resilient Pasifika: Build Better Now”.

“And it’ll be a bit of a relief … as chair to not only do your duties as Prime Minister, but also to represent the region for the whole year,” PM Brown said.

“And as people will know, I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the road this year. So I’m looking forward to that handover taking place in Tonga at the end of this month.” 

PM Brown says the Foreign Affairs Minister Tingika Elikana will be accompanying him to the meeting in Tonga with a team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.

“I’m not sure who the rest of our delegation will be, but it won’t be that big of a team that we’ll be taking. 

“I know that there will be a bit of a struggle with numbers coming into Tonga to be able to accommodate what is going to be a very large number of people going to Tonga for this Leaders’ Forum this year. 

“We’ll look forward to making sure that we’re well represented, in particular for the handover of the chairmanship, and continue to play our role in the region as well.”

Brown will still be in the Troika, which includes the three leaders: the former chair, the current chair, and the incoming chair.

“I’ll be on the Troika for another year until the chairmanship passes over from Tonga to the Solomon Islands.”

Brown added that the Pacific Islands Forum is focused on several issues for discussion, including the Pacific Resilience Facility, specifically where it will be domiciled. Discussions will also centre around issues in New Caledonia and the Forum’s approach to de-escalating the violence and addressing the concerns raised by one of its member states.

Meanwhile Brown will lead a high-level Pacific mission to New Caledonia alongside Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Jeremiah Menele, before the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders (PIF) Meeting in Tonga.