Meeting in Nuku'alofa this week, representatives of four countries, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, have engaged in a planning consultation process for the Pacific’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, co-hosted the consultation on the 1^st Draft Implementation Plan for the Pacific’s 2050 Strategy, covering key thematic areas such as political leadership and climate change, at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre, on 30 August.

CEOs co-chaired the discussions of this plan, which is the first of three phased-in implementation plans, that will be developed by the Forum Member Countries, the Council of Regional Organization of the Pacific (CROP) Agencies, the Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs), Private Sector Organizations, and Partners Agencies.

The plan will continually be reviewed from 2030, 2040, and towards the 2050 target.

The PMO stated that through the 2050 Strategy, which was launched in 2022, the region's focus is on the development of seven thematic areas, namely; political leadership and regionalism, people centred development, peace and security, climate change and natural disasters, oceans and environment, as well as technology, and connectivity.

The Forum Secretariat’s team leader and Strategic Planning and Coordination Adviser for the 2050 Implementation Plan, Viliame Bovoro, led the consultation process, and gathered Tonga’s feedback.

Chief Executives, Directors and Senior Officials from across the Government Ministries, Agencies and Public Enterprises, Members of the Civil Societies Organizations, Private Sectors, Tertiary Institutions, and some Tonga Media attended the consultation.

A consultation for other forum members, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, Nauru, and Fiji, is scheduled for this month.