Results for Pacific Islands

Four ambassadors to Tonga presented their credentials to HM King Tupou VI today, 8 November, in a formal ceremony at the Royal Palace in Nuku'alofa during Diplomatic Week, marking the beginning of the ambassadorships.

King Tupou VI and Chinese President Xi Jinping have exchanged congratulatory messages on November 2 to mark two decades of diplomatic ties between their countries. The 20th anniversary of China and Tonga’s diplomatic ties was also celebrated on the same day at the Chinese Embassy in Nuku‘alofa.

US Coast Guard service members have been authorized to enforce security zones near Port Moresby during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leader’s Summit to be held on 12-18 November in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Tonga is one of four Pacific Island countries that is supporting a proposal for the establishment of a Regional Secretariat for labour mobility initiatives and a PACER Plus Implementation Unit. The Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu also offered to host the Labour Mobility Initiatives and the PACER Plus Implementation Unit in their own country, when the proposal was raised at the 2018 Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting, held in Honiara, Solomon Islands on 10 October 2018.

King Tupou VI has visited the site of EXPO 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where Tonga will have its own pavilion in the “Opportunities Sector”.

A new process of certification aimed to better facilitate arriving passengers into New Zealand travelling with specific food items in umu packs from Tonga, is expected to be implemented in November, after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on October 4 in Nuku'alofa. CEO Ministry for Primary Industries (MPIE), Roger Smith said they found travellers from Tonga have been very compliant and trustworthy.

A procession highlighting the role of Tupaia, a Tahitian navigator and priest in James Cook’s successful exchanges with Maori people in New Zealand, will be held as part of an exhibition marking Cook’s voyage from Plymouth, UK to Australia 250 years ago.

On the sidelines of the One Planet Summit in New York, Dr. Hilda C. Heine, President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji and COP23 President, set the bar as the first countries to show the world concrete steps on the path of raising the ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). And they called on the global community to follow their lead.

A Fiji Dalo Quality manual to help taro growers, buyers and exporters improve the quality of taro being produced and traded for the local and export markets was launched on September 19.