Fiji Cabinet Minister Inia Seruiratu says disaster management will remain a priority for the region "in the decades to come."
Seruiratu is the chair of the first-ever Pacific Disaster Ministers Meeting, organised by the Pacific Community and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and hosted by the Fijian government.
He said the meeting is a sign of the times and challenges the Pacific faces, calling it a landmark gathering.
Inia Seruiratu. Photo: Alex Perrottet / RNZ
Pacific political leaders, senior civil servants, experts and donor partners from 17 countries of Oceania are meeting in Nadi to elevate work on disaster management.
Seruiratu said the meeting was the "Pacific family's effort to bring together disaster authorities, policy-makers, and development partners" to determine how to forge the Pacific's safest possible future.
There are 13 ministers attending in person, more joining virtually and 13 disaster directors working to produce a declaration that will be presented at the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in Brisbane, Australia on September 19-22.
The Pacific Community's Director of Director, Geoscience, Energy and Maritime Division, Rhonda Robinson, said the ministerial meeting was a recognition of the need to get high level officials around the table at the ministerial level to elevate the engagement which was already taking place at regional expertise level.
She said the ministers carried the burden of managing one of the most disaster-prone regions globally and said the meeting would provide opportunities to dialogue around some of the region's critical issues.
Dr Stuart Minchin, the Pacific Community's Director-General, told the ministers their political leadership and commitment to the work led by their national officials was even more important now against the complexities and compounding impacts of Covid-19, climate change and disasters.
He said their shared investments could actively contribute to the wellbeing, growth, and sustainable development of Oceania.