The Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum says the regional agency must place special attention on Small Island States if it is to reflect and understand the benefits of regionalism.
Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Meg Taylor. Photo: supplied
Dame Meg Taylor made the comments at the opening of the Small Island States (SIS) Leader's meeting in Port Moresby.
The meeting precedes the full forum leaders' meeting which kicks off tomorrow.
Dame Meg offered her commitment and determination to project a more "in touch" secretariat with the SIS.
She says for too long hopes of addressing the vulnerabilities faced by the SIS brought little result.
But the Secretary-General, who has visited each state over the past year, says things are changing.
The SIS has called for a more exclusive focus on them and while Dame Meg says this may seem contrary to the spirit of the Framework for Pacific Regionalism the Forum can't afford not to place special attention on them.
She says the SIS have an important role to play in elevating concerns and perspectives on the new Sustainable Development Goals and the momentum towards the COP21 climate change meeting in Paris.