The Premier of Niue, Toke Talagi, has called on Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers to refocus their efforts on economic issues and their impact on development in the region.
Mr Talagi is the chair of the 14th FEMM meeting in Niue and in his opening speech said previously such gatherings have tendered to meander and a re-focussing is needed.
He says this isn't an attempt to appoortion blame but rather a reaffirming of the purpose of FEMM.
Mr Talagi says it's clear those countries, which are dependent on tourism and remittances as well as exporting to larger economies, have had a rough time as a result of the global economic crisis.
He says the challenge is to try and improve the response to help those members ride it out.
He says with donor nations also suffering the members have to look to themselves to determine what they can do to minimise the impact of the crisis.