[REMARKS] PIF SG at the opening of the 2025 Forum Trade Ministers Meeting

Delivered by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa at the opening session of the 2025 Forum Trade Ministers Meeting

18 July 2025

Honourable Kapelieli Lanumata, Minister for Trade and Economic Development 

Honourable Deputy Prime Minister

Honourable Ministers
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished representatives of the Forum’s Development Partners and Technical Agencies, and CROP Agencies

Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very warm Pacific welcome to you all.

It is a pleasure to address you at this important meeting, where we confront the real and evolving challenges shaping trade and economic development in our region. Since you last met, the global trading environment has become even more complex. From rising protectionism and trade wars to climate shocks and geopolitical instability, our already vulnerable Pacific economies are absorbing more external pressures that threaten livelihoods, fiscal stability, and long-term growth.

Our response must be collective and grounded in practical cooperation. Regional economic integration is not an abstract goal. It is the most viable pathway to resilience. This is the central premise of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, that together, we are stronger in protecting our development space and building shared prosperity.

The Pacific Roadmap for Economic Development (PRED) that was agreed to by the Special Forum Economic Ministers Meeting in March earlier this year, offers a structured, actionable plan to operationalise the 2050 vision. Through PRED, we seek to further strengthen trade infrastructure, support private sector development, and improve our positioning in regional and global markets.

The successor Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy 2026–2030 that is being proposed for your consideration, will build on these foundations. It will ensure that Forum Island Countries have the tools and the means of implementation, and technical support to expand market access to enhance productive capacity and participate meaningfully in global value chains. Its effective implementation will require discipline, coordination, and measurable outcomes.

Multilateralism must remain central to our agenda. The World Trade Organization, while imperfect, provides a rules-based platform where our voices can and must be heard. Noting the many challenges to multilateralism, the WTO system urgently needs reform. We need a WTO that reflects the needs of our Blue Pacific, rules that account for our vulnerabilities, enable fisheries sustainability, support digital trade, and ensure flexibilities for economic transition.

This is where regionalism becomes essential. Regionalism is essential to addressing our common challenges, as well as to leverage our collective, regional voice in our global engagements. PACER Plus and PICTA are tools for deeper regional alignment promoting trade facilitation, harmonising regulations and expanding our collective economic footprint. These platforms must be fully leveraged with clear national and regional commitments driving implementation.

The agenda before you also includes labour mobility, the proposed Kava Declaration, fisheries subsidies, digital readiness and private sector resilience. These issues must be viewed through a lens of strategic regional cooperation. We cannot afford siloed approaches or passive engagement. What is needed now more than ever are coordinated actions with clear priorities, backed by political will, and technical execution.

Honourable Ministers, I encourage us all to use your meeting to agree on practical steps forward, and to ensure that the regional trade agenda meets the needs of our people.

Allow me this opportunity to convey my deep appreciation for your continued guidance and support in the work of the Secretariat. We look forward to a fruitful and results-oriented discussion and we stand ready to further assist you in your deliberations.

Tubwa kõr. 

[ENDS]