Despite the downpour of rain, the Kingdom of Tonga put on a spectacular welcome for PIF Leaders at the opening of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting yesterday morning in Nuku’alofa with songs of praise and resilience delivered by hundreds of Tongan students.
Pacific Leaders and their delegations were welcomed into the newly constructed stadium where remarks were delivered by the Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Baron Waqa; Outgoing Forum Chair and Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown; His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupouto’a Ulukalala; Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and Forum Chair and host, the Prime Minister of Tonga, Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni.
In his address, Prime Minister Brown extended his gratitude to Forum Leaders for their support to the Cook Islands eighteen-month tenure as Forum Chair and committed his continued support to Tonga’s leadership of the Forum in the year ahead.
n his welcome address, Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku affirmed Tonga's commitment to building on progress and strengthening regional cooperation to tackle shared challenges. He emphasised the importance of health and education as the basis for regional development. The songs delivered by the students emphasised Tonga’s theme for the 53rd Forum of “Transformative Resilient Pasifiki” and Hu’akavameiliku’s call to action was, “we must ensure resilience against natural disasters and climate change.”
The opening ceremony signifies the acceptance by the Government and people of the Kingdom of Tonga of hosting and Chair of the Forum responsibilities for the year ahead. Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku will be supported in Chair responsibilities by the other two members of the Troika leadership, Prime Minister Brown and Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele of the Solomon Islands with Solomons to host the 54th Forum in Honiara in 2025.
This year’s opening ceremony was notable for the attendance of the UN Secretary-General Guterres and in what can only be described as a display of nature’s force, soon after the opening ceremony, the building shook with the impact of a 6.9 magnitude earthquake.
Of the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Brown said, “the songs of praise and resilience of the students, rising above the torrential downpour of rain, and the earthquake that shook the stadium were powerful reminders the strength and resilience of our Pacific people in the face of acute climatic vulnerabilities. I hope the global coverage of the Forum, through attendance by UN SG Guterres compels G20 countries to meet their climate obligations.”
Some of Prime Minister Brown’s reflections on eighteen months as Forum Chair, since February 2023, can be found in Islands Business article by Nic Maclellan of Saturday, August 24th: Cook Islands Forum Chair Article.
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