Pacific Region Foreign Ministers meet

Foreign ministers of the Pacific region have described the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting, which was held in Suva Friday, as a way of bringing greater focus to the topics that require genuine regional action and integration.

Forum chairman and Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs Minister Rimbink Pato said some of the issues discussed were extensive, wide and varied.

“They relate to a whole range of issues, one of which is sustainable development and what steps we are taking in relation to the sustainable development goals adopted in New York and steps we are taking moving forward on the COP 21 agreement,” he said.

The ministers reflected on the successful efforts in Paris at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP 21 last year as a clear example of the power of co-operation and what can be achieved when working together.

There was agreement on the need for co-ordinated regional actions on climate change and disaster risk management to ensure resilient sustainable development.

“It's quite clear that some of our member states have ratified the Paris agreement and there was encouragement in our meeting for other member states to ratify the agreement so that it can become effective,” Pato said.

SOURCE: FIJI TIMES