The independent countries of the Pacific can be proud of the achievements of the South Pacific Islands Forum and owe a debt to two great statesmen who founded it, Tonga's King George Tupou V noted in opening the 38th meeting of the Forum at Pangai Lahi in Nuku'alofa this morning.

The king was referring to the late Ratu Sir Kamasese Mara, and the then Prime Minister of New Zealand Sir Keith Holyoake who paved the way for the first Forum meeting in 1971.

Meanwhile, unity and cooperation among the 16 member states was a repeated theme in the welcome speeches for the leaders and representatives of 16 Pacific countries gathered in the rain at the Pangai Lahi.

In his opening speech, King George recalled how at the age of 23 years as a diplomat he was present the first meeting of the South Pacific Forum.

"I remember, clearly, that in those days there was only one regional gathering of South Pacific Island countries and that was the South Pacific Conference, unfortunately, it was believed by the metropolitan powers of that augustus body that any kind of political discussion was harmful to their interests," he said.

"However, they had not reckoned on one man and that was the late Ratu Sir Kamasese Mara, who took the initiative and wrote to the then Prime Minister of New Zealand Sir Keith Holyoake, suggesting that the independent countries of the Pacific should have a separate meeting, quite apart from the metropolitan powers of the South Pacific Conference where we could sit and informally discuss our problems and any issues which might be contentious at the time and our greatest concerns. And we did meet in Wellington. We didn't have a name, not even a secretariat, this was left very informally and in a very loose way to the distinguished civil servants of the day," he said.

"I feel we all owe a debt to a great Fijian statesman and a great New Zealand statesman without whom we may never have had a Forum to begin with. Since then and since that very informal gathering this organisation has grown to become the South Pacific Forum of today and I believe our peoples can be justly proud of its many achievements," King George said in wishing the leaders success in their deliberations

Unity and cooperation

In their welcome speeches the Prime Minister of Tonga and the Chairman of the Forum Sir Michael Somare highlighted importance for cooperation and unity among member states.

Tongan Prime Minister Hon. Dr Feleti Sevele said the Pacific Plans' objectives would only be fully realised on the basis of sustained efforts.

"While many of the objectives of the Pacific Plan have been accomplished in its first two years there is a lot more that we need to work on in order to strengthen the more difficult aspects of our regional cooperation," he said.

"Today, we have come together at a time of fast moving and complex developments in our region," he said, in noting that the founding fathers of the Forum had displayed "farsighted vision in establishing the Forum as a strong regional political family", which could help resolve crises faced by any of its members or the region itself.

"This is the test before us today and it calls for a united, firm, and principled, yet sympathetic and understanding response," Dr Sevele said.

Leaders

Leaders attending the Forum include the Presidents of Nauru and the Marshall Islands; the Prime Ministers of the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, with the Deputy President of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Vice President of Palau, a special envoy from Kiribati and a representative from the Solomons.

Fiji's interim Prime Minister Commander Voreqe Bainimarama was applauded by Tongan spectators when he entered Pangai Lahi.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard was not able to attend, but is represented by his Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

The Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Rt. Hon. Don McKinnon is attending his last Forum of his Commonwealth term of office.

The European Union, the Asian Development Bank and other Post-Forum Dialogue Partners are represented among the visiting delegations.

The Pacific Islands Forum was founded in August 1971 and comprises 16 independent and self-governing states in the Pacific. The Forum is the region's premier political and economic policy organisation. Forum Leaders meet annually to develop collective responses to regional issues