By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Pacific leaders started to gather in Palau on Monday for the annual Pacific Islands Forum, but the absence of several heads of government has cast a shadow over a meeting intended to demonstrate regional unity.
Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Solomon Islands’ prime ministers and the Kiribati president will not attend the leaders’ retreat in person.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale was due to attend but left Palau to face a no-confidence motion at home. Kiribati said President Taneti Maamau was unable to travel because parliament was sitting and flights were limited. The absent leaders are expected to be represented by ministers or senior officials.
The meeting, hosted by Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. in Koror through September 4, is being held under the theme “B.E.L.A.U. — Building Economies: Life. Action. Unity.”
Leaders will review progress under the region’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, consider reforms to the forum’s regional architecture and partnerships, and seek to coordinate climate priorities before the COP31 climate summit later this year, according to an Australian parliamentary library backgrounder.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Pacific countries wanted tangible outcomes.
“We want more doing, less hui (meeting),” Peters told reporters on Sunday, using the Maori word for meeting.
Economic pressures will also be high on the agenda, including rising fuel and transport costs, job creation, connectivity and investment in more resilient infrastructure. Leaders are due to meet the Asian Development Bank president later on Monday.
Peters said oil supply disruptions were among the region’s most pressing concerns and foreshadowed an announcement on relief measures that could come within days.
Regional security is also expected to feature after a Pacific Island foreign ministers’ meeting in Suva earlier this month failed to agree on a collective response to a Chinese missile test in the Pacific. Peters said it was unclear whether leaders would reach a common position in Palau, adding that the time elapsed since the test raised questions about the value of a response now.
Dialogue partners including the U.S., China, Japan and Singapore will return to the forum after being excluded from last year’s meeting in Honiara. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and China’s Special Envoy for Pacific Island Countries Affairs Qian Bo are among those expected to attend.
Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung is also in Palau for meetings and side events held alongside the forum. His presence is likely to draw attention because Palau is one of three Pacific states that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, while China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes its participation in international forums.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Chris Reese)
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