The opening of the 53rd PIFLM in Nuku’alofa on Monday has got to be rated as one of the best opening celebrations of anything Pasifika, at least in the Kingdom of Tonga. Not only was the newly constructed Tonga High School indoor stadium was beautifully suited and well decorated for the occasion, but the atmosphere was charged with tranquility and joy, with an aura of cultural and spiritual solemnity.
The launch took place during a heavy downpour of rain causing flooding in some parts of Tongatapu. A 6.8 earthquake was also felt later in the morning, which one visitor from Kiribati described as “scary”.
But if anything, the weather situation was like an indication of the kind of conditions often experienced by people in the islands of Oceania as consequences of climate change. And it happened during the opening of the 53rd PIFLM when all the leaders of the 18 Pacific Island nations and their development partners were present.
Congratulations to Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku and his team for the organization and hosting of PIFLM 53. There were doubts that lingered whether the needed prefab accommodation and even the meeting venue would be finished in time, but the delegates are here, and they are all accommodated somewhere, with the brand newly constructed Tonga High School Indoor Stadium as the main meetings venue.
Chairman Hu’akavameiliku announced the theme as the: “Transformative Resilient Pasifiki: Build Better Now”. The emphasis is that “we need to move on from just policy deliberations, to implementation. Policies are action plans that means nothing unless implemented.”
Hawaiian based Telesia Afeaki Tonga, a prominent MC and organizer of Polynesian festivals and Pasifika celebrations, who was at the opening exclaimed: “It is the best ever!” Her exhilarating remark was representative of most observers.
The leaders of the 18 Pacific Island nation-members of PIF and their delegations were treated to a Friendly Island welcome only Tonga can offer. Development partners, civil society groups, and over 80 media representatives from the region were present to witness the spectacular opening of the most important regional meeting Tonga has hosted for many years.
The speeches delivered by the outgoing chair of PIF, Cook Island Prime Minister Mark Brown, as well as the incoming chair, Tonga’s Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku, were reconciliatory and filled with gratitude, yet emphatically specific in calls for action rather than just talk, on issues like mitigating for Climate Change.
“We must do this now,” he said. “With our 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its Implementation Plan now in place, we must now focus on implementation and action.”
“For Tonga this means striving towards a ‘fit for purpose’ regional architecture. It means championing the Pacific Resilience Facility, and other financing arrangements focused on resilience to all our partners – old and new. It means building resilience into our Health and Education sectors.”
“Building better now requires us to reassess the strength of our existing partnerships. Build better now requires us to explore new and innovative partnerships. And most importantly, we must do it together, and involve our People.”
Other keynote speeches were delivered by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Gueterez, and Baron Waqa, the new Secretary of PIF. Mr. Gueterez reiterated the importance of the Pacific Islands as a region and that “you must make your voice known to the world.”
This rare visit to PIFLM by the UN Secretary General is no small thing, and he engaged in side meetings, such as Inter-generational Youth Dialogue in which he said, “My presence here is a presence of solidarity, but it also to join my voice to your voice, when you claim that it is needed to stop this suicide of the planet.”
Our Pacific Island sovereignty and independence involves the “telling of our stories in our own way, by our own people.” The issues that are of priority must be our issues, and not those imposed upon us by outside forces. UN Secretary General Gueterez was strong in his affirmation of these sentiments.
The music and cultural dances, and “choir style songs” provided by students from local schools were electrifying to say the least. It was like a “Tonga’s Got Talent” demonstration of peaceful yet passionate plea from a generation who has witnessed in their short lifetime the destructive impacts of climate change, and who wants their children to survive not only the climate impacts, but also social impacts of crime and corruption, gender based violence, poverty, and lack of good governance.
Tonga is the 6th most climate vulnerable nation in the World. Tonga grabbed international attention in January of 2022 in the aftermath of the tragic eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha-apai Volcano. Deaths, injuries and the scale of damage to its infrastructure shocked the World.
But there was something (or someone) notably missing from the opening of PIFLM 53. His Majesty King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u were absent. Of all important occasions in Tonga, things are not complete without the presence and participation of the Monarch. In this case, the King was out of the country. He left before PIFLM and returns a week after.
Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala took his place as the Chief Quest of Honor, but questions remain as to why the King and Queen were absent during the most important regional meeting to have been hosted in Tonga in years.
The Pacific’s leaders have a full agenda. Outside of the formal PIF Leaders meeting, Tonga has emphasized throughout the importance of involving all stakeholders, including the public through side events, exhibition shows and, in the opening, and closing of the Forum.
Planned side events include the National Single-Use Plastics Roadmap aimed at phasing out single-use plastics (SUPs) in Tonga; meetings over the Teieniwa Vision and Pacific Unity Against Corruption; dialogue on sea-bed mining, and other issues.
Associate membership of Guam and American Samoa into the Forum family will be considered. This could bring the US more firmly into the Pacific family. More importantly, Pacific’s leaders will deliberate on how best to frame its approach to the steps that are now needed to conclude the decolonization in New Caledonia. Prior to PIFLM 53, a task force that planned to visit New Caledonia were delayed, and did not make the visit prior to the leaders’ meeting.
Pacific’s leaders will undertake further steps to make the Pacific Resilience Facility operational. Leaders may discuss transnational crime and its growing implications for their domestic economies and societies and a host of other standing items including the implementation of our 2050 Strategy – the Blue Pacific’s Southern Cross. The 53rd PIFLM will conclude with the leaders’ two day retreat in the beautiful northern islands of Vava’u, Tonga’s pride as a tourism destination.
