Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela is urging g7+ members to strengthen cooperation and mechanisms to help address conflict, build resilience and increase their influence in global decision-making.

Speaking on the theme “Charting Concrete Mechanisms for Stability, Self-Reliance, and Resilience,” at the g7+ High-Level Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Minister Houenipwela said the theme calls for concrete actions. 

Drawing on Solomon Islands’ experience of the Ethnic Tensions, he highlighted dialogue and reconciliation as an area where members could learn from one another, including through greater involvement of traditional leaders, churches, women’s groups and communities.

He also pointed to the g7+ Rapid Response Advisory Centre as a mechanism for providing member states with expertise in areas including natural resource management, arbitration and governance.

Houenipwela further called for countries facing structural vulnerabilities to have a greater role in shaping international policies and frameworks affecting their development and security.

He encouraged existing members to strengthen their unity and said countries with similar experiences could also consider joining the g7+.

“The g7+ countries are not defined by fragility; we are defined by our capacity to overcome it,” he added.