The 52nd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting gets underway today with sub-regional meetings without leaders from three Melanesian nations.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, Solomon Islands’ Manasseh Sogavare, and Vanuatu’s Charlot Salwai will not be attending the annual meeting, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Deputy Secretary General Esala Nayasi confirmed yesterday.

Sogavare is not attending due to the upcoming Pacific Games hosted in Honiara, and Salwai is tied up with the recovery work after category five Tropical Cyclone Lola left a trail of destruction in Northern Vanuatu late last month. They will be represented by their Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele and Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu, respectively.

Marape will be represented by Minister Justin Tkatchenko and Foreign Minister John Rosso, who is also the country’s Deputy Prime Minister.

New Zealand, which has yet to form a government after an election, will send its outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni and incoming National government’s Gerry Brownlee.

The Forum Leaders Meeting begins with sub-regional meetings of leaders from Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, who will be meeting in their own blocs this morning.

In the afternoon, there will be a Smaller Island States meeting, where the key decision will centre on the future of the smaller island states grouping within the Pacific Islands Forum.

Key issues to be discussed at the Forum Meeting include the Rarotonga Treaty, Blue Pacific 2050 strategy, climate change (a topic of priority that Prime Minister and Forum Chair Mark Brown will take to the COP28 Climate Change Meeting), a proposal on a “Pacific Peace Zone” from Fijian Prime Minister, Fukushima wastewater discharge, the Israel-Hamas war, and the appointment of the next Secretary-General of the Forum.

Special Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum and Cook Islands Ministry of Immigration and Foreign Affairs (MFAI) Secretary Tepaeru Herrmann said the work that the leaders do at the Forum is critical to ensuring the security and prosperity of Pacific people.

“This meeting, from its genesis to this day, is about serving the people. It is about making sure the needs and aspirations of Pacific people are at the forefront of the agenda,” she said.

“Too often, I hear when two Pacific leaders have a disagreement, it is seen as an issue... they have opposing views.”

Herrmann said it should not be a shock to people if leaders have opposing views, but rather should be the norm.

“Our leaders will be in agreement on many issues, and there will be issues in which they don’t have to have differences of opinion.”

Representatives from France, Taiwan, Japan, India, Germany, Cuba, Ghana, Norway, Turkey, Singapore, Portugal, and the Philippines are also expected to attend.