Pacific Islands Forum chair Jeremiah Manele told delegates at the US-Pacific investment summit underway in Honolulu, Hawai’i the Pacific’s young population sought opportunities at home and not necessarily by migration.
Mr Malele said Pacific economies must be able to participate fairly in global markets.
He said while trade access, labour mobility and technology partnerships were essential, added that so too was access to climate finance that could be delivered efficiently at an impactful scale.
He said reforms to global financial systems that recognised multidimensional vulnerability alongside income was critical.
“These are challenges the Pacific Islands Forum continues to pursue with partners including the US, and as urgently as practicable, aligning them with our regional priorities through regional mechanisms,” Mr Manele said.
“This ensures coherence, avoids duplication, and strengthens trust between the Forum and its partners.”
Mr Manele said shared prosperity meant the Pacific is a partner in shaping solutions, noting the Pacific’s collective economic priorities captured in the Pacific Roadmap on Economic Development, which signalled areas of potential support and collaboration for all partners.
Going forward, he said the Pacific region welcomed engagement grounded in transparency, mutual respect, and long-term commitment to deliver impactful people-centered development.
“We seek targeted, effective and sustainable partnerships that can drive the advancement of our regional priorities, as outlined in the Leaders Policy on Partnerships that underpins our new partnership mechanism as Forum leaders.
“The prosperity of our Pacific region will increasingly depend not only on governments alone, but on the dynamism, innovation and resilience of our investment, security and shared prosperity.”
Mr Manele said the Pacific agenda of the summit offered an opportunity to continue dialogue as partners connected by ocean, history and a shared commitment to a peaceful and resilient region.
