REMARKS: Secretary General, Baron Divavesi Waqa, at the 2025 Pasifika Futures Forum

Honourable Ministers
Development partners
Esteemed delegates
Young people
Ladies and gentlemen,

1.    It is an honour to address you this morning, as we commence the week-long collaboration with countries, partners and stakeholders to build on the vision set forth by our Pacific Islands Forum Leaders.

2.    Last night, we commemorated Girmit Day. It was an opportunity to reflect on our shared history and envision our future together. Today, we gather under the theme “Beyond the Horizon”. I will speak to this within the context of the 2050 Strategy of the Blue Pacific Continent.

3.    Our 2050 Strategy builds directly upon the comprehensive futures and foresight work undertaken in support of its development, extending its vision whilst continuing to stress the importance of nurturing our Pacific family. The 2050 Strategy takes us “Beyond the Horizon” and is our collective roadmap towards deepening regionalism. It also guides us towards a future where our region thrives in unity and resilience.

4.    Our Blue Pacific continent symbolises our ocean that connects us through culture, shared identity, common challenges and unique vulnerabilities.

5.    While we aspire to steer our region towards our collective ambitions, we must be vigilant of emerging trends and signals that can hinder our progress. Our global context is rapidly evolving. This brings uncertainty as we seek to understand the impacts that will be felt in our Blue Pacific.

6.    And as we continue our collective work to rebuild our economies following COVID-19, we now face global trade tensions.

7.    We see a shifting landscape of development assistance at a time when critical resources are required to confront the impacts of Climate Change.

8.    We also acutely feel the results of increased transnational crime activity. These challenges sit alongside an increased geopolitical focus on our Blue Pacific.

9.    In the face of such uncertainty, our policy priorities for our region remains grounded in our long-term plan for our people, the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

10.    Our vision as articulated by our Forum Leaders for ‘a resilient Pacific region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, that ensures all Pacific peoples can lead free, healthy and productive lives’ remains our uniting aspiration amongst this uncertainty.

11.    The first theme of the UNDP Pasifika Futures Report is “Polycrisis and the New Abnormal”. This theme reflects that the effects of climate change are now reality for Pacific communities. The signals of change within our climate are clearly evidenced by science and our own lived experience.

12.    In this face of climate change we are not waiting for solutions — we are shaping them. As frontliners of the climate crisis, we are also front-runners in advancing climate ambition, resilience, and diplomacy. While rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and extreme events continue to test our resolve, they have not broken it.

13.    We are not defined by our vulnerabilities but by our resilience. We are building resilient communities across our region. In developing homegrown solutions like the Pacific Resilience Facility and leading global climate action with moral clarity, we are navigating our own course despite the growing climate crisis.

14.    Through the Pacific Resilience Facility, we are reshaping the narrative: from one of vulnerability to one of agency, leadership, and solidarity. The PRF is our own climate and disaster preparedness fund, designed and owned by the Pacific, for Pacific communities. It will provide timely and predictable funding for community-led climate adaptation and disaster preparedness projects across the region.

15.    Future-ready institutions, such as this, are critical to mobilise sustainable financing while investing in long-term adaptation and risk governance.

16.    The second theme of the Pasifika Futures report highlights ‘Geo-Economic Fragmentation’. The COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing global trade issues and the economic impact of civil unrest in Ukraine and the Middle East have highlighted the vulnerabilities of Pacific economies to global events. Many of the Pacific region's economies are heavily dependent on external trade and aid. Therefore, trade agreements, tariffs, and supply chain disruptions can have profound effects on Pacific economies, which rely on exports like fisheries, agriculture, and tourism.

17.    Our response to these situations is the Pacific Roadmap for Economic Development, which was recently endorsed by the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting at their Special Meeting in March. This future-focused roadmap recognises the trends before us and seeks to enhance economic cooperation and integration and to reduce dependency.

18.    As I conclude, I wish to acknowledge the Pacific futurists of our past who navigated by the stars to reach new horizons.

19.    I also recognise the Pacific futurists of today, including our Pacific Island Forum members, who contributed extensively to developing our 2050 Vision, the Pacific Community’s award-winning Pacific Pathfinder foresight toolkit, and those involved in the emerging 2050 Strategy for Pacific Agriculture and Forestry and the Pacific One-Maritime Framework.

20.    I thank UNDP for this contribution to Pacific foresight. Our  2050 Vision will only be achieved through strong, genuine and collaborative partnerships.

21.    I look forward to the rich discussions and insights that will be shared over the next few days to ensure actionable outcomes for our Blue Pacific region and communities.

I thank you.