Wale visits Australia and New Zealand
Newly installed Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Matthew Wale, is wasting no time as his premiership gets underway. He was in Australia for meetings with PM Anthony Albanese last week and met with New Zealand’s PM, Chris Luxon earlier this week. He and his delegation also met with other senior ministers. Wale and Albanese announced that they plan to elevate the relationship between their countries by negotiating a treaty, which is expected to include security elements.
QUAD plan for Fiji
At a recent meeting of Foreign Ministers of the QUAD (Australia, India, Japan, USA), the group announced ‘QUAD Ports of the Future’ with Fiji earmarked to be the first location for the infrastructure initiative. The details of what this means are not yet clear. Neither is the extent to which this development will (or will not) align with the Fiji government’s pre-existing plans for redevelopment of the Suva port. Critics have called out the lack of Fijian representation at the meeting where this decision was made.
Heine highlights the importance of oceans management
President Hilda Heine of Marshall Islands has spoken out about the centrality of oceans management to her country’s survival. She was speaking at the Island States Oceans Summit held recently in Tokyo. She was joined by PM Feleti Teo of Tuvalu and President Surangel Whipps Jr of Palau in calling for greater access to technical assistance and finance for Pacific countries seeking to manage their maritime resources whilst dealing with the impacts of climate change.
PNG Parliament debates Bougainville report
The Parliament of PNG has begun the process of debating the future of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. This came further to the tabling of a report by the bipartisan committee on Bougainville Affairs. The debate saw MPs speak both for and against Bougainville becoming independent, with the outspoken Belden Namah MP, having a dramatic impact. Parliament is scheduled to vote on ratification of the 2019 referendum at the end of August.
About the author: Dr Tess Newton Cain is Principal Consultant at Sustineo. She is also a distinguished academic and researcher with over 25 years of unmatched experience in delivering exceptional policy, research, and analysis to drive strategic development across the Pacific islands region.
