‘Olita Tupou, Tonga’s Director of Strategic Partnership and International at the Prime Minister’s Office, has called for strong regional cooperation as the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) moves closer to finalizing its Establishment Agreement.
Tupou, who was originally set to co-chair the fifth Legal Co-Drafting Workshop in Nadi, participated via Zoom due to a reported government hold on overseas travel. Despite her absence, she reaffirmed Tonga’s commitment to the initiative, emphasizing the urgency of securing climate and disaster risk funding for the Pacific.
“The safe passage of the PRF has stemmed from our collective and shared values and goals of our Leaders, to genuinely strengthen the resilience of our Blue Pacific communities against climate change in a sustainable and transformative way,” Tupou said.
The workshop, attended by 44 officials from Legal, Foreign Affairs, Economic, and Finance Ministries across Forum member countries, aims to finalize the PRF Establishment Agreement ahead of the Special Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) in March.
Desna Solofa, Deputy Secretary General – Governance of the Pacific Islands Forum, highlighted the significance of finalizing the legal framework. “A legally secure PRF is crucial to signal stability to Members and funders, helping attract capital to meet the USD $500m target,” she said.
Deliberations continue over the next two days as officials work toward treaty ratification by September 2025.
