By Georgina Maka’a
Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare will be a no-show at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders summit, which opens tomorrow in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
Instead, Foreign Affairs Minister Jeremiah Manele, who flew out yesterday, leads the country’s delegation to the 52nd summit, which runs from November 6–10.
A spokesman for Sogavare’s office told In-depth Solomons today that the prime minister has a lot right now to attend to, so he decided to send Manele instead.
“The prime minister is the minister responsible for the Pacific Games, which kicks off in two week’s time on November 19,” the spokesman said.
“So he needs to remain home to attend to this historic sports event, which the country is hosting for the first time,” he added.
“Besides, parliament is still in session so the prime minister has to be here as leader of the government.”
Before his departure yesterday, Manele said he looks forward to engaging with PIF leaders on regional policy directives and priorities for 2024.
“Solomon Islands’ key priorities will be promoting important regional issues on the agenda, which will be presented to Pacific Island leaders for their deliberations and endorsement,” Manele said.
“This includes the Implementation Plan of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which will guide the regions decision-making process to strengthen regional collective actions,” he added.
“We will also be advocating for regional efforts and developments on the climate change and resilience agenda, including the Pacific Resilience Facility – a distinctive funding mechanism for Pacific Island countries to access critical financing for risk reduction.”
In-depth Solomons understands Japan’s Fukushima issue, the Gaza/Israeli war and climate financing are expected to be key discussion points.
High-level delegations from the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom and others are expected to descend on Rarotonga for the largest regional meeting of the year.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said his country expects 500 delegates, dialogue partners, civil society partners and the media to attend the week-long event.–
