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“A Transformed & Resilient Pasifiki: Building Better Now”
 
Launch of the Theme of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum and Related Meetings
 
Remarks by Henry Puna, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum
 
10 April 2024

* Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince Tupouto’a Ulukalala;
* Your Eminence, Cardinal Mafi;
*  Prime Minsiter Of Tonga Hon Hu’akavemeiliku and Ministers of Cabinet;
* Nobles of the Realm;
* Excellencies Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
* Development Partners;
* Members of the Tongan Community…the old, the not so old, the youth, the private sector, the church community, and all who are present here today.

• Malo e lelei!
 
• It is an honour and a great privilege to be with you today here in the Kingdom, to mark the official launch of the dates and the theme, for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum and Related Meetings.
 
• The hosting of Leader’s Meeting is an exciting time for any country.
 
• It is your opportunity to showcase to the region, and to the world:
 
o your culture,
o your people; and
o your beautiful home.
 
• It is an opportunity for Tonga to reaffirm yet again, the strength of your resilience, the determination of your people, and the warmth of your hospitality.
 
• The success of this Forum rests, not only on the shoulders of your government, but on the shoulders of each and every Tongan here in the Kingdom, and across the world.
 
[Context]
 
• We live in a region that continues to grapple with a multitude of challenges – economic, political and social.
 
• On top of this, we continue to contend with the climate-related threats to our economies and our well-being.
 
• But these challenges, while great, have not and will not deter us, from our efforts to work together to address them.
 
• Because, it is only in our unity, that we can truly overcome adversity.
 
 
[Reflections on Legacy]
 
• This 53rd Pacific Islands Forum sits at a very important juncture in our region’s history.
 
• It will, amongst other things, consider and decide the trajectory and direction of the regional architecture, that underpins and brings to life Pacific regionalism.
 
• Tonga’s leadership, diplomacy and foresight, as the incoming Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, will be vital.
 
• But regional leadership is not new to Tonga.
 
• Just over five decades ago, the Kingdom of Tonga was amongst a group of 7 Pacific Island Leaders who decided that they wanted to forge a new pathway in the region.
 
• Tonga, together with Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru and Samoa made a pact to form a political grouping of independent and self-governing states.
 
• That grouping has grown and evolved into what is known today as, the Pacific Islands Forum.
 
• Indeed, it was at their very first meeting in 1971 that the Prime Minister of Tonga at the time, H.R.H Prince Tu’ipelehake, tabled the proposal for a regional shipping line, building on the organisation of Tongan inter-island shipping at that time.
 
• It is stories like these that provide an insight, to your island nation’s early vision for regional cooperation.
 
• It is also a testament to the value, that your founding leaders saw in a grouping such as the Forum – the opportunity to learn from each other, and working together, to overcome the common challenges across our sea of islands.
 
• It would be remiss of me if I did not also acknowledge Tonga’s leadership, through a son of your island nation, Mahe Tupouniua – the first Director of the South Pacific Economic Cooperation Bureau.
 
• He led and grew the SPEC in the first 6 years of its existence, under the guidance and oversight of Leaders – setting the foundation for the Forum Secretariat, as we know it today.
 
[The 2050 Strategy – a long-term vision for the region]
 
• Excellencies, Colleagues, Friends
 
• As Tonga assumes the leadership mantle of the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024, it will be the 4th time that the Island Kingdom does so.
 
• Indeed, your recent history has shown the resilience and adaptability of the Tongan people, reaffirming that Tongan Proverb – Ala ‘i Sia, Ala ‘i Kolonga.

• We are a region in transition.
 
• We are re-setting our sails, to journey towards the achievement of the 2050 Vision, of the 2050 Strategy.
 
• The resilience and adaptability you have shown at the national level, will be critical for us at the regional level, as you move into the Chairing of the Pacific Islands Forum.
 
[Launch of the Meeting Date and the National Theme]
 
• But for today, we celebrate the Tongan people.
 
• We honour your willingness to assume the responsibility of hosting the region here on your shores, for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum.
 
• From today’s launch and onwards, the journey to the opening formalities of the Leaders Meeting, will be guided by, and align with, the theme that your Government has chosen.
 
• Beginning today, you will inspire and ignite a wave of conversation, intent, planning and action at all levels of your community, to prepare this island nation to welcome the region in August.
 
• If there is one piece of advice that I can leave you as your Secretary General, and indeed, as a former Leader and Host of a Pacific Islands Forum, it is this:
 
The hosting of a Leader’s Meeting is not the sole responsibility of the Government of the day only, it is the honour and responsibility of the entire nation, and most importantly, your people. Embrace this honour and responsibility, at all levels of your community.
 
• That said, we stand behind you and with you in your preparations.
 
• We look forward to working with you, towards a successful outcome in August.
 
• Together we will ensure our efforts continue to secure a 2050 future of Peace, Prosperity, and Harmony for all Pacific peoples, across all our Pacific nations.
 
• Malo ‘aupito for inviting us to join you today for this auspicious occasion.
 
• I thank you and may God richly bless Tonga!

Keynote Address by the Prime Minister, Hon. Hu’akavameiliku

at the 

Launching of the Theme of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum and Related Meetings

Nuku’alofa, 10 April 2024 

Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘UIukalala
Deputy Prime Minister and Honourable Cabinet Ministers
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Members of Parliament
Nobles of the Realm
His Eminence Cardinal Soane Patita Mafi and Church Leaders
Your Excellencies and Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Chief Executive Officers and Government Representatives
Distinguished Guests
Private Sector, Civil Society Organizations, Town Officers, Students
Ladies and Gentlemen

Malo e Lelei and Welcome to Tonga!

It is with great pleasure that I stand before you all today as the Incoming Forum Chair.  Today signifies a special moment for Tonga – as it officially commences preparations for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting.  It has been many years (2007 in fact) since Tonga last hosted the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting – the most important meeting in our regional calendar.

Hosting the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting is not only a prestigious honour and privilege, but comes with a great deal of responsibility as Tonga will be at the helm of driving the collective development aspirations of “our” Blue Pacific region.

We look forward to hosting our brothers and sisters from across the Forum family, and I look forward to your support to ensure we do so with great hospitality, and befitting our title as the “Friendly Islands”.

We have experienced significant challenges here in Tonga over the past few years.  In 2018 Tropical Cyclone Gita ravaged our islands and our infrastructure.  This was followed in early 2022 by COVID-19 and the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcanic eruption, which combined to cause unprecedented damage to our homes, our families, our villages, and our economy.  Tonga therefore understands first-hand, the importance of building resilience at all levels – community, national, and regional.  Tonga has prioritised resilient design in all its planning and work – placing the marginalized and vulnerable communities at the centre.

On top of this, we have dealt with transnational crime, with rising energy and food prices, and at the same time our education and health indicators have lagged due to disruptions because of  natural disasters   These challenges have all tested us as individuals and as a nation.

Challenges like these are common across the Pacific.  Our brothers and sisters for example in Samoa, in Solomon Islands, in Kiribati, in Palau, and in Vanuatu all face the same challenges and the same vulnerabilities, and across the Forum membership we all face the same need for financing to keep our public and private sectors afloat, minimizing disruption to key sectors such as Agriculture, Education and Health, (and soften the effect of external shocks to our economy).

Through all of our challenges – our people have never lost their will, and determination.  In fact, it makes us stronger and more resilient as Pacific peoples.

With our unique vulnerabilities – we must build resilience into everything that we do: how we address the impacts climate change and environmental degradation, how we build our economies through collective solutions, how we build the capacity of our people through innovation and technology, and in how we address our continued health challenges by working together. We must BUILD BETTER NOW.

Within this context, it is important that we embed the idea of resilience in all of our regional priorities – from climate change adaptation, to economic development and trade, to regional security, to education and health, to environmental protection.
And it is this idea of transformative resilience that Tonga has the opportunity to champion at the 2024 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting, drawing on its own unique experiences of the last few years.

Leaders have endorsed the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its Implementation Plan, which underpin our region’s collective commitment to a resilient Pacific.  As set out in the 2050 Strategy – “our vision is for a resilient Pacific Region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, that ensures all Pacific peoples can lead free, healthy and productive lives”.

In all of these areas, resilience must frame and shape how we develop and how we monitor our regional policy priorities.

As a part of resilience-building, I am also committed to ensuring that the 2024 Forum Leaders Meeting is focused on results.  With the 2050 Strategy now in place, we must move beyond visioning and policy deliberation, to a focus on the achievement of tangible results and outcomes at the national level.

With this in mind, it is my ambition that Leader’s carefully examine the implementation of all key initiatives that have been put in place over the past few years, with a view to monitoring and measuring the tangible outcomes that have been produced.  
After all, Pacific regionalism is first and foremost about the countries and the territories of the Pacific working together for the purpose of achieving more effective results and impacts at the national and community levels.

To bring these concepts together, I am pleased to announce that we have developed a theme for the 2024 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting.  It is a theme that reflects our unique position as the Kingdom of Tonga but also resonates right across the Pacific Islands Forum Membership. And the theme is “Transformative Resilient Pasifiki: Build Better Now.”  Tonga believes that the Pacific must now move beyond policy deliberation to implementation – achieve transformation by building better now.  Tonga also recognises the importance of resilience, which cuts across all 7 thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy.  
I believe this theme will set the tone and the parameters for the 2024 Pacific Islands Forum and the consideration of its Leaders by ensuring that the meeting agendas, and substantive reports and recommendations are all focused on resilience and results.

I am also confident that this theme will ensure that the 2024 Forum Leaders Meeting, chaired by Tonga, will mark a transition point in the Forum from planning and visioning, to a sustained focus on results – results for our region, member countries, results for our communities, results for our people, and results for the next generation.

The official logo we launched, captured the spirit of the THEME. The Dove is universally recognised as a symbol of peace and love. The Kalia is recognised as means of transportation that are common to most if not all in our Blue Continent. We are all in this journey, face with lots of challenges but there’s hope…in the horizon we have a rising sun, and rainbow to remind us theres always HOPE, theres always HOPE for a better Tomorrow.

In closing, I fully acknowledge that the success of Tonga’s Forum depends on all of our collective and shared efforts.  It is not the role of one agency alone to convene the Pacific Islands Forum.  All of us must come together as we prepare to welcome our brothers and sisters to Tonga in a few short months. 
With the pleasure of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala launching of the dates, our theme and the logo, the various communication tools, we look forward to hosting a successful and happy 2024 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting on 26-30 August here in the Kingdom. 
Malo ‘Aupito