The Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue 2010 Study Tour Group to Tonga are looking into the Tongan system of government, economy, village life and its people.

The a one-week study tour saw participants from eight Pacific Islands countries visiting government ministries, the Tonga Parliament, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga and private organisations, including the Civil Society Forum of Tonga and Nautilus Minerals Tonga.

They are group leader Lesina Filipo, the Manager of the National Provident Fund in Samoa; Carole Cholai from the Papua New Guinea Information Systems; Josie Tamate, an Economic and Policy Advisor in Niue; Julian Chonigolo, Government Archivist Solomon Islands; Tiffany Greene the Founder and Director of Nature Centred Approaches to Peace Building in Australia; Ashwin Vikash a Lecturer on Economics and Finance in Fiji; Jean Pipite Senior Lawyer Indigenous Cultural Centre in New Caledonia; Viali Lameko, the Acting Head of Internal Medicine, Samoa National Hospital; Helen Te Hira, a New Zealand Educator; and Kila Pidi from Papua New Guinea.

Meeting the press on March 18, participants were united in their view that the program had provided them with the opportunity to come and learn from Tonga and to explore and exchange views on vital issues ranging from health, development, good governance.

The ELPD 2010 program which brings together 120 mid-career men and women from across the Pacific, opened in Samoa on March 11 and closes in Tonga on March 23.

The Study Tour participants are divided into ten groups consisting of 13 members. Each group visited a separate Pacific country from Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa before coming to Tonga for the closing.

The other members of the Study Tour Group would arrive in Tonga on Saturday, March 20.