Delivered by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Divavesi Waqa at the 9th Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development - “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs for a sustainable future for all.”
Venue, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Conference Center, Suva, Fiji
Date: 29- 30 October 2025
The Under Secretary General Ms. Armida Salsaiah Alisjahbana
The Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company Mr. Aholotu Palu
Honorable members, Excellencies and Officials
CROP agencies
Partner organisations
Ladies and Gentlemen
Welcome to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
I am honored to provide brief remarks at this 9th convening of the Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development.
This forum provides a platform for dialogue and collaboration to reaffirm our shared vision towards action-oriented initiatives for our region.
The theme for the week: “Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 agenda and its SDGs for a sustainable future for all” is fitting.
This Forum follows the 54th Pacific Forum Leaders Meeting held in Honiara, Solomon Islands, and the strong engagement of our Leaders at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
At the regional and global platforms, our Leaders amplified our shared priorities on climate action, peace and security, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, children’s wellbeing and multilateral reform.
Our region continues to navigate complex global landscapes that impact on how we engage with our partners, but we remain committed to working with those that support efforts on climate change, trade and economic resilience, and safeguarding our health and wellbeing.
The 2030 agenda reflect our common challenges and sets targets, it is clear that there is urgent work required of us to meet the ambitions we have set for ourselves.
At UNGA80, our Leaders reiterated that accelerating implementation of global commitments such as the 2030 Agenda, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Political Declaration on the prevention and control of non‑communicable diseases, and the World Programme of Action for Youth; demands more than global ambition, it requires local delivery.
This Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development is one of the regional mechanisms that converts those global commitments into coordinated Pacific actions.
The discussions in the next two days will enable this, as we assess progress against specific goals. I will speak to some of the region’s efforts in this regard.
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
The Pacific Water and Wastewater Conference was hosted in Solomons Islands in August of this year.
The theme for the conference “Water and Wastewater for all: connecting people, policies and communities for a shared sustainable future” brought together utility professional, policy makers and water experts to elevate water security at the highest level.
I am pleased to share that our Leaders discussed the outcomes of the Pacific Water and Wastewater when they later met in Solomon Islands in September and the work underway to strengthen water and wastewater services across the region.
This will include sustainable financing and capacity building opportunities on water security action.
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Regional efforts to build sustainable cities and communities continue.
This year we celebrated and witnessed the courage of 27 passionate law students from Vanuatu, who pursued and transformed climate advocacy into meaningful action.
Through the region’s collective efforts, and through the Forum membership and the engagement with the United Nations General Assembly, we received the advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on climate change and human rights.
The first for smaller island countries who continue to advocate and call for action and urgency to address the injustice and the life-threatening impacts of climate change in our communities especially our most vulnerable.
I would also like to highlight recent developments regarding the establishment of the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) which is our region’s Pacific-owned resilience financing mechanism.
Our Leaders signed the PRF Treaty at the Forum Meeting held in Honiara in September, the evening was a very proud and emotional moment for many of us in the room.
I’m happy to announce that Solomon Islands went further to commit and pledge US$1 million at the margins of the World Bank Meeting 2 weeks ago.
Again, to those that have worked with us on this for our region, I deeply thank you.
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Another significant achievement I wish to highlight is the Pacific Strengthening Correspondent Banking Relationships (CBR) Initiative, which is being jointly implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the World Bank.
This initiative, the first of its kind globally, brings together eight and soon to be nine Pacific countries that have collectively pooled their IDA allocations from the World Bank.
The initiative is in place to address the growing challenge of correspondent banking relationship closures across the region.
Through this collaboration, a Pacific Payments Mechanism is being developed to provide a long-term, sustainable, and regionally owned solution to the issue.
The initiative aims to increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises to financial services and markets.
I am also proud to share of the first-ever Pacific Regional Private Sector Development Strategy endorsed earlier this year that will also support growth of our micro, small and medium enterprises.
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
The Secretariat recognizes that effective partnerships are central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
To our UNESCAP colleagues who are partnering with us on this dialogue, thank you for continued engagement and support on a number of initiatives that have been endorsed by Leaders such as the Pacific Climate Mobility Framework and the Pacific Roadmap for Economic Development.
We also recognise the significant work you are doing with our CROP agencies and responding to our technical data needs which I understand from our team, is assisting with our annual reporting to leaders through the SPC data Hub.
Another innovative and transformative partnership we are proud of is the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC).
They have enhanced access to climate and disaster financial protection when disasters strike.
In fact, several Members have received benefits through this facility in the last few months.
This contributes to addressing our concerns on slow and insufficient access to finance and protection when disasters strike.
Acknowledging the diverse mandates, strengths, and partnership modalities of Members, CROP agencies, and our development partners, we learnt that working together delivers stronger and more sustainable results for the region.
In line with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, our Leaders call for a whole-of-region approach to implementation—one that harmonises efforts, fosters collective accountability, and aligns regional and national priorities.
To enable this, regional coordination mechanisms have been established to strengthen coherence and collaboration across all stakeholders to implement the 2050 Strategy.
As we conclude this week, our collective task should be to ensure that the priorities voiced by our Leaders in Honiara and again in New York continue to resonate here in the Pacific and beyond.
We must do this through partnerships that deliver for the Pacific’s people, ocean and shared future.
I look forward to hearing the outcomes of your discussions over the next few days, and the alignment of our efforts towards achieving our vision.
Vinaka vakalevu, thank you, and I wish you all a productive and meaningful Forum.
[ENDS]
