Pacific Islands Forum Leaders chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has reiterated the call for support from Leaders and Heads of Regional Agencies in the implementation of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

He says it is not a task that can be or should be taken lightly and the strategy will not sit on a shelf to gather dust.

Brown, speaking at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders and CROP Heads Meeting on Tuesday said that at the political level, Cook Islands hopes that with the endorsement of the Pacific Partnerships for Prosperity, will provide a political prioritisation mechanism that is driven by Members to chorale new financing and partnerships.

He hopes that together they can build on these innovative ideas to strengthen how they work together for the Pacific people.

“Because we need action. We do not want to see more proliferation of regional strategies and frameworks. We need to see a greater focus on the implementation of existing strategies.

“We also need to see the clear alignment between regional strategies to our national development plans; greater alignment between the decisions of our regional governing councils; and greater alignment in how we engage in the global arena,” Brown said.

It was in 2019 at a forum meeting in Tuvalu, that leaders endorsed the development of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent highlighting their concerns for the region’s challenges of climate change related impacts, intensification of geostrategic competition, exacerbating the region’s existing vulnerabilities.

Last year, at the meeting in Fiji, leaders welcomed and endorsed the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, as the overarching blueprint to advance Pacific regionalism for the next three decades, articulating the region’s long-term vision, values, and key thematic areas and strategic pathways.

This week at the leaders and CROP Heads meeting, Brown said it was not often that they have the opportunity to gather as Leaders and Heads of Regional Agencies tasked with the implementation of their collective decisions and priorities.

He said the engagement provides the opportunity for Forum Leaders to meet with CROP Heads who will report and provide policy advice on the implementation of the Leaders priority initiatives.

In many ways, while Leaders carry the aspirations of collective action in the Pacific, the very realisation of this vision lies with you – our regional agencies. You who are privileged with the role of advising, developing and implementing our collective decisions and instructions.

“As a region, we have come together to develop the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We have, with your support, articulated the regional collective actions that now make up the 2050 Strategy Implementation Plan. We will now rely on your leadership to ensure that these priorities are implemented and progressed in the coming years.”

He said the strategy, if it is to truly guide their collective aspirations, will require dedicated and consistent support to implement and this is something they cannot do alone as countries.

“You, our CROP agencies, are vital to the realisation of our collective vision in 2050,” he added.