Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Licence needed for work use Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Concerns Ahead Of The Pacific Island Forum

It is extremely concerning that Kiribati and Micronesia are not attending the Pacific Island Forum, National’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says.

“The Prime Minister has, for some weeks, said the appropriate place to discuss matters relating to security in the Pacific was at the Forum where Pacific Island nations, including, New Zealand and Australia, could express and form a common position.

“The Pacific Island Forum has been heralded as being an opportunity to patch up disagreements among the nations in attendance. But the breakdown of the Suva agreement before the Forum is extremely concerning.

“The withdrawal from this meeting by Kiribati, and the non-attendance by Micronesia, means there is a great deal of work to do to restore the solidity and credibility of the Forum for it to be an authoritative voice on Pacific issues and concerns.

“The Prime Minister should concentrate her efforts this week on resolving the issues that have seen Kiribati withdraw from the forum, and Micronesia decide not to attend. Failure to do so will render the Forum a toothless organisation.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

Featured News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.