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President Mori Attends 40^th Pacific Island Forum in Australia

Suva, Fiji (FSM Embassy, Suva): August 10, 2009 - His Excellency President Emanuel Mori led a delegation to the 40^th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' meeting in Cairns, Australia, which was held on August 4 to 7, 2009. President Mori was accompanied by First Lady Emma S. Nelson-Mori and staffed by The Honorable Lorin Robert, Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fabian Nimea, Director, Office of SBOC, and His Excellency Samson Pretrick, FSM Ambassador to the Republic of the Fiji Islands. The Forum was also attended by head of states and governments of Australia, Cook Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Nuie, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, and representatives from Kiribati and Palau. The spouses of the heads of states and governments were also present and had their own separate programs like visiting schools and hospitals. New Caledonia and French Polynesia attended the formal session as Associated Member States and Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Wallis & Futuna, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the United Nations, and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission were present as Observers. The heads of the major organizations in the region, known as the CROPS, as well as representatives of international financial institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Asian Development Bank (ADB), and development partners such as the United States, the People's Republic of China, Japan, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, South Korea, Italy, France, India, Portugal, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia were also present and participated in the Post-Forum Dialogue Partners' Plenary Session.

The three days of the Forum included related meetings such as the Smaller Island States Leaders' meeting, Pacific ACP Leaders' Summit, the Official Opening of the Forum, the Forum Plenary Session, the Leaders' Retreat, and the 21^st Post-Forum Dialogue Partners' Plenary Session. The highlights of the Forum discussions were on the global economic crisis and climate change. Other principal issues discussed included renewable energy, the strengthening of development coordination, security, fisheries, trade, millennium development goals, and the situation in Fiji, among others.

At the margins of the Forum meetings, the FSM delegation took the opportunity and held bilateral meetings with allies and friends like the U.S., the People's Republic of China, Japan, Canada, EU, as well as with developing partners such as the ADB and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The main cross-cutting issues that were discussed include strengthening bilateral relations, climate change, vital infrastructure development, private sector development, the trust fund, renewable energy, socio-economic cooperation, development assistance coordination, and the 5 year Compact Review.

The Forum Communiqué and other details information can be downloaded from the following websites: www.fsmpio.fm or www.forumsec.org. For more information, please contact the FSM Department of Foreign Affairs at (691) 320-2544/2641 or the FSM Embassy in Suva at (679) 330-4566.