Forum Secretary General arrives in Australia

Forum Secretary General arrives in Australia to discuss people centred development in the Pacific

5th February 2018

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Dame Meg Taylor is in Canberra this week for regional policy consultations. Her discussions will focus on ensuring that people are at the centre of development across the Pacific region.

The agenda over the next two days will focus on the role of the Pacific Islands Forum and the region more generally within Australian Foreign Policy, an expanded regional security declaration to be known as Biketawa Plus, and innovative approaches to building the resilience of countries and communities to the effects of climate change and disasters in the region.

As part of the visit Dame Meg will meet with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator Concetta Fierravanti Wells.

“These discussions are integral to ensuring that the policy advice we present to Forum Leaders on issues of importance to the region is grounded in the concerns and challenges faced by the people of this region. As such, these discussions are part of a broader process that delivers on the Forum Leaders’ call for a greater level of community inclusivity and participation in the regional policy process,” said Secretary General Taylor.

“Australia was a founding member of the Pacific Islands Forum and has always been an ally to the Pacific Islands region. As such, we look forward to the concrete discussions that are set to take place on issues of enduring significance to the region as a whole – including climate change, ocean governance, labour mobility, and the establishment of a regional resilience fund.”

“I also look forward to discussing regional security, and in particular the ways in which Australia can continue to contribute to the development and delivery of regional arrangements that support the collective security agenda of the Pacific Islands Forum”.

The Secretary General is accompanied by a team from the Forum Secretariat who intend to meet with representatives from civil society organisations, the Australian Council for International Development and the Australia Pacific Business Council.

Over the last month the Forum Secretariat has been running in-country consultations to inform the development of regional policy options and initiatives that will be considered by Pacific Leaders when they meet in Nauru later this year.

More information on the consultations, Pacific regionalism, and the Forum are available from the Forum Secretariat’s website.

© Scoop Media