Pacific Island leaders have endorsed the establishment of a regional Labour Ministers Meeting as a dedicated ministerial mechanism within the Pacific Islands Forum architecture.
The decision was made at the Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau, where leaders also endorsed the associated Business Case and Ministerial Charter, while taking into account the ongoing review through the Regional Review of Architecture.
Leaders said labour and workforce governance had emerged as strategic regional priorities, with growing implications for economic resilience, labour mobility, skills development, workforce sustainability and inclusive growth.
They said the new Labour Ministers Meeting would complement existing regional ministerial mechanisms, including the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) and the Forum Trade Ministers Meeting (FTMM).
FEMM provides oversight of regional economic policy and integration, while FTMM oversees regional trade and labour mobility policy.
The Labour Ministers Meeting will provide dedicated regional leadership on labour and workforce priorities.
Leaders said the three mechanisms would strengthen policy coherence, regional coordination and implementation of the Resources and Economic Development priorities under the Pacific Islands Forum’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
