REMARKS: Welcome Remarks by Chair of the Special Forum Economic Officials Meeting, Kilisitina Tuaimei'api

Malo e lelei and a warm Pacific good morning to you all.

2.    On behalf of the Kingdom of Tonga, I extend my heartfelt welcome to you, especially those who have journeyed across our vast moana to join us here in Nuku’alofa. It is my privilege to Chair this Special Forum Economic Officials Meeting (FEOM) at a time when our Blue Pacific faces unprecedented economic and social headwinds. With your expertise and cooperation, I am confident we will chart a clear path forward today.  

3.    Excellencies and Senior Officials, we meet amidst a storm of global uncertainties—trade disruptions, escalating conflicts, and shifting geopolitical tides—that threaten to unravel the fragile gains our Pacific economies have made. The IMF forecasts our region’s growth at 4% in 2025, a modest rise from 3.3% in 2024, buoyed by tourism’s slow recovery. Yet, this progress is fragile and exposed our region’s vulnerability.

4.    Natural disasters—like the 2022 Hunga-Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and last year’s earthquake in Vanuatu—continue to batter our vulnerable economies, piling debt onto already strained budgets. Global supply chain issues have driven up the costs of living, while worker shortages and brain drain erode our human capital. These are not distant threats; they are the lived realities of our people, testing our region’s resilience.  

5.    In these turbulent times, regionalism is our lifeline. No single Pacific nation can weather these storms alone. Our strength lies in our unity—a collective resolve to turn challenges into opportunities through shared solutions. Today, we focus on three critical initiatives: the Pacific Roadmap for Economic Development (PRED), the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) Treaty, and the Climate Finance Access and Mobilisation Strategy (CFAMS). These are not abstract policies but urgent tools to confront debt distress, secure livelihoods, and protect our communities from escalating risks.  

6.    I would like to thank you Excellencies and Senior Officials for your diligent efforts and active engagements in the development of these regional initiatives in the past years and months.  These initiatives are critical which is why our Forum Ministers have asked for this Special Ministerial meeting to take place.  Our Ministers saw the value and the urgency to equip ourselves with these tools so we can shape our own future rather than having it shaped for us by others.  

7.    These initiatives, refined through years of rigorous dialogue facilitated through the Pacific Economic Sub-Committee (PESC), reflect our shared determination. But their true power lies in action. I urge you to recommend their endorsement to our Finance Ministers with clarity and conviction. Implementation will demand more than intent—it will require us to pool our ingenuity, harness new technologies, and forge lasting partnerships that amplify our voice in a world that too often overlooks Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

8.    Excellencies and Senior Officials, we are facing considerable headwinds, but our Pacific spirit has never bowed to adversity. From the ashes of disasters to the pressures of brain drain and rising costs, we have endured by standing together.  This is testament to our true resilience. Let us seize this moment to be unified in strengthening the competitiveness of our Pacific economies and our people—not just for today, but for the generations to come.  

9.    I look forward to your insights and robust debate as we shape a resilient Blue Pacific.

Malo ‘aupito.