Results for Pacific Islands

Tonga is hosting an international meeting this week in Nuku'alofa to discuss tsunami warnings in the Pacific. The 46 member states of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS) are meeting at the Fa'onelua Convention Center.

Solomon Islands Governor General, Honourable Sir David Okete Vuvuiri Vunagi, was installed today as the 30th Chancellor of The University of the South Pacific (USP) during the Laucala Campus graduation ceremony held at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force’s (RNZAF) newest aircraft has been involved in a significant multinational fisheries surveillance operation for the Pacific’s Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA). The Operation Island Chief covered 18.2 million square kilometres of Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) member nations’ exclusive economic zones and high seas.

The Regional Preparatory Meeting of the Pacific SIDS came to conclusion this evening, 18 August, at Fa’onelua Convention Center, in a closing ceremony hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu.

Trafficking in Persons, a crime where victims are exploited in various forms of slavery, is coming under a new scrutiny in Tonga. Ever since Tonga prosecuted its first Trafficking in Persons (TIP) case over a decade ago, there have been no further cases of TIP because there were no new trafficking investigations and victims were not identified, says Police Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff, Pelenatita Vaisuai. That situation is about to change. Interview by Katalina Siasau.

On a first visit to Tonga by a US cabinet member, today, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, took a few quiet minutes to lay a wreath at the seafront Cenotaph in Nuku'alofa, before he met with the Tongan Prime Minister and other officials at St George Government Building across the road. The War Memorial honours the Tongan fallen in two World Wars. In WWII there were more American troops stationed in Tongatapu than Tongans. During the morning, Secretary Blinken spoke about US perceptions of today's superpower rivalry in Tonga and the Pacific region, when he was answering questions at a media briefing.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia, July 24-29, the State Department announced last night. Secretary Blinken is the first Secretary of State to visit Tonga, and this is his third trip to a Pacific Island country, and his 12th trip to the Indo-Pacific region. In Tonga he will dedicate the new U.S. Embassy “and advance key discussions with our Tongan partners.”

Registration for the 2023 Pacific Access Category ballot, which opens on 1 August ,will enable people from Pacific Islands, including Tonga the chance to obtain resident visas in New Zealand.

An El Niño alert for Tonga was issued by the Meteorology Department, on 14 July, as forecasts show there is a 70% chance of El Niño forming this year. The likely impacts on Tonga will include cooler nights, less rainfall over the next 6-12 months, and more tropical cyclones in the next cyclone season from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024.