Photo: AFP
The five-year implementation plan for the 2050 Strategy will be a top item on the agenda when Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers meet in Fiji on Friday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Forum Secretariat said the meeting, which will be chaired by Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, will focus discussions on key regional priorities.
"One of the key priorities for deliberation will be the implementation plan of the 2050 Strategy; the five-year implementation plan is scheduled to be endorsed at the upcoming Forum Leaders meeting [in November]," it said.
The 2050 Strategy, endorsed by Forum leaders in Suva in July 2022, is the long-term regional blueprint to tackle challenges facing the Pacific region.
The Forum Foreign Ministers are expected to discuss "global and regional strategic trends and dynamics, the climate crisis, and a revitalised gender equality declaration."
It will include the region's key engagement and advocacy priorities, including the preparation for the 78th UN General Assembly and US-PIF Summit, the upcoming Forum Leaders Meeting, COP28, and the release of treated Fukushima nuclear wastewater by Japan into the Pacific Ocean.
"Forum Foreign Ministers will also consider the Outcomes of recent Ministerial Meetings, including the Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders Meeting, the Forum Economic Ministerial, and the Forum Fisheries Ministerial Meeting of the Forum Fisheries Agency," Forum secretary general Henry Puna said.
"So, on top of the work programmes around the 2050 implementation and international engagement and advocacy, there is much work to do," he added.
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will be attending the meeting.
"Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent," Mahuta said.
The meeting in Suva "will be an opportunity to connect and discuss how the region can continue to work together in response to the many pressures affecting Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, and in ways that support Pacific priorities and enhance Pacific mana," she said.
"This will include agreeing to an implementation plan for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent - our region's North Star, guiding us as we work together and with our partners to secure the future of our region."
While in Fiji, she will also undertake bilateral meetings with Forum Foreign Ministers and visit Adi Cakobau School.
The 52nd Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting will be held in the Cook Islands from November 6-10.
The theme for the meeting is Our Voices, Our Choices, Our Pacific Way: Promote, Partner, Prosper.