Results for Pacific Islands

Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku met with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, along with the Governor-General of Tuvalu, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The purpose of the meeting was so that Azerbaijan could gather resources, and be familiar with island nations and their voices, as Azerbaijan prepares to host the 2024 Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP29).

Australia has allocated to Tonga a total of 150 new Pacific Engagement Visas for 2024, through an online ballot process set to open on 3 June. The Pacific Engagement Visa is a new permanent resident visa for participating countries across the Pacific and Timor-Leste, with up to 3,000 visas opportunity to be given every year.

The right to good health for all people is more important than ever. Countries in the Western Pacific need to accelerate action towards universal health coverage, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated on World Health Day in April. By 2048, an estimated 21 million people in the Western Pacific are expected to die each year from NCDs, accounting for nine out of 10 deaths in the region. Nearly one in four children over the age of 5 years and nearly two in five adults in the Western Pacific are now overweight or obese.

The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Mr. Henry Puna, said China's security offering for the upcoming 53rd Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting to be held in Tonga from 26 - 30 August, this year, is not an issue for the Pacific. “This issue is a lot more complicated," he said, while warning the Pacific not be hindered by the “outsiders’ geo-political games”. [updated 12 April]

The Commonwealth Secretary General, the Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland KC attended Easter Sunday mass in the Kauvai Parish of the village of Longoteme, Tongatapu, this morning, where Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga, conducted the service.

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) today, 21 March, launched a major upgrade and development to their monitoring and surveillance efforts, with two new systems built for vessel registrations and Port State Measures. The e-PSM system is a critical tool in the fight against Ilegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) in the Western and Central Pacific. Tonga is the first country to implement the e-PSM which allows efficient data exchange.

There is a need for Western Pacific countries to maintain high coverage of measles vaccination and to increase surveillance of cases at international borders, the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr. Saia Ma’u Piukala urged, citing a 255% increase of measles cases from 2022 to 2023 in Western Pacific countries. Measles is one of the most infectious diseases on earth, spreading easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.

The Pacific Community (SPC) has appointed Elsie Fukofuka as its Regional Director, Polynesia, stationed at its Regional Office in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, as from 23 February 2024.

In Auckland today, Tonga's Prime Minister, Hon.Hu’akavameiliku held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt. Hon. Christopher Luxon, to discuss priority areas for cooperation and partnership, in climate change, cyber security, sports, health and education.