The Honourable Hu’akavemeiliku Siaosi Sovaleni

Tapu moe Afio ‘a e Ta’ehamai ‘i hotau lotolotonga

Tapu moe Tama Pilinisi Kalauni pea pehe foki ki he Pilinisesi
Kalauni

Pea kole heni keu hufanga he ngaahi fakatapu kuo ‘osi aofaki
kae ‘ataa keu fakafofonga’i atu e Pule’anga ‘o Tonga, ke ‘oatu
heni ha lea fakamalo loto hounga’ia.

It is my distinct honour to echo the esteemed words of His
Royal Highness, Crown Prince Tupouto’a, as we embrace the
privilege bestowed upon our Kingdom and its people to host
this prestigious assembly of regional leaders.

I express my sincere appreciation to all of you, to my colleague
leaders, and all delegations, for making the journey across our
vast ocean to join us for the fifty-third Pacific Islands Forum
Leaders Meeting. Your presence is testament to our shared
commitment to the unity and prosperity of our shared Blue
Pacific.

Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince Tupouto’a: I extend to you
my deepest gratitude for your continued leadership and
guidance. Your call to place our people at the forefront of our
discussions resonates profoundly with the theme of our
meeting: Transformative Resilient Pasifiki, or Lakai ha Pasifiki
Tu’uloa: Langa ke Tu’utai. Together, we must, we can and we
will confront and overcome any challenge.

Secretary General Baron Waqa, I offer my congratulations on
your first Forum as our Secretary General. Your appointment
marks a historic milestone, bringing renewed connections and
unlocking a new era in our regional development. We are
honored to have you, Secretary General Waqa at the helm of
our Secretariat. I, together with all Leaders, look forward to
working with you.

To the United Nations Secretary General, Mr António Guterres.
We are proud as a region to host you once more in our Blue
Pacific. Your unwavering commitment to climate justice and
advocacy makes you a cherished ally and a true champion of
our Small Island Developing States. Your presence here
testifies to your dedication to bringing our stories and complex
circumstances to the global stage.

You are here with us, less than a month away from the Futures
Summit, the Annual United Nations General Assembly, and the

High Level Meeting to Address the Existential Threats Posed
by Sea-Level Rise. We count on you to take our stories – our
circumstances – to the global community.

Your Royal Highness, Excellencies and Ladies and Gentlemen.

Prime Minister Brown of the Cook Islands, I acknowledge with
gratitude your remarkable tenure as the outgoing Forum Chair.
Your leadership has elevated the Forum’s work and role to
unprecedented heights. Ably guided by you, we navigated
politically charged issues with astuteness, achieved landmark
commitments to the Pacific Resilience Facility, and revitalized
the Pacific Islands Forum Troika. I want to assure you that I am
fully committed to building on the momentum that you have
established.

As we look ahead, I am acutely aware of the significant
responsibility entrusted to me during these challenging times.
The unity of our region is paramount. I do not take this lightly.
The theme of our meeting, Transformative Resilient Pasifiki:
Build Better Now, compels us to move beyond plans and
strategy to urgent, to decisive action and above all
implementation. People count on us to walk the talk. We cannot
afford to loose their trust.

We must dismantle barriers impeding progress in critical
sectors such as health and education. We must ensure
resilience against natural disasters and climate change. We
must intensify our advocacy and action on climate change and
sea level rise. We must reach consensus on our vision for
Regional Peace and Security. We must honor the vision of our
forefathers regarding self-determination, including in New
Caledonia.

All these pressing issues demand political discussion and
guidance at the highest level. The future and direction of the
Pacific Islands Forum are entrusted to us. It will require an
open and frank talanoa, even if it makes some of us uneasy.
These are necessary conversations and they are crucial for
maintaining our solidarity and achieving our vision under the
2050 Strategy for the Blue Continent.

I look forward to our Leaders Retreat in Vava’u.

Before I now conclude, may I extend a warm Pacific welcome
to our partners who have a key role to play in achieving our
goals. We look for genuine partnerships with the friends of the
Pacific. Friends who stand with us through thick and thin,
partnerships that honour our aspirations and respond to our
regional needs. We look forward to discussing our collective
ambitions for these partnerships in the coming days.

Excellencies, in conclusion I must acknowledge that the events
of this week result from the collective efforts of the people of
the Kingdom of Tonga and friends of Tonga. I wish to express
our appreciation to our development partners and friends of
Tonga, who have supported our us in hosting the Forum,
including Australia, New Zealand, the People’s Republic of
China, and our CROP Agencies.

It has truly been a community-wide endeavour to bring us to
this point. Therefore, it is only fitting that I express my deepest
gratitude to the people of Tonga. Malo ‘aupito for your
contributions in preparing for this week. You have done your
part; now it is up to the leaders to do our part and demonstrate
inspired leadership and action.

Let us carry the momentum from this occasion into all our
deliberations in the week ahead.

Malo ‘Aupito and God bless.