PM in Suva for Forum Leaders Meeting

Prime Minister Manasseh Damukana Sogavare is now in Fiji attending the 51^st meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum from 11 to 14 July 2022.

Sogavare and his delegation left the country on Saturday 9 July.

This will be the first face-to-face meeting of Forum Leaders since their meeting in Tuvalu in 2019.

Prime Minister Sogavare will join other Leaders of Pacific Forum nations in Fiji to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Pacific Islands Forum.

The Leaders are expected to launch the ‘2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent’ which provides the blue print for regional cooperation and coordination within and among Forum members going into the future.

Among the many agendas Forum Leaders will consider is the reform of the Pacific Islands Forum to promote unity and strengthen cooperation and collaboration among and between the members of the Forum family.

Prime Minister Sogavare is also expected to sign a bilateral agreement with Prime Minister Bainimarama of Fiji on the shared maritime boundaries between Solomon Islands and Fiji at the margins of the Forum.

A Special MSG Summit is also expected to be held during the course of next week.

Prime Minister Sogavare will be joined by Foreign Minister Hon Jeremiah Manele, who is also in Fiji attending the Forum Foreign Minister’s Meeting on Friday 8 July ahead of the PIF Leaders’ Summit, and Minister of National Planning and Development Coordination, Hon. Rex Ramofafia and several senior officials.

The Prime Minister’s delegation is expected back in the country on 15 July 2022.

ENDS///