Forum leaders to elevate Pacific priorities on the global agenda at UNGA81
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum gather in New York this week for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly to present regional priorities they identified at the 55th leadership meeting in Palau earlier this month.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., the Forum's chair, heads the regional delegation to UNGA81, which begins today and ends on Sept. 28.
According to a press release from the Forum, island leaders will advance regional efforts to strengthen visibility on opportunities to mobilize prospective bilateral and non-traditional partners to capitalize the Pacific Resilience Facility to reach its target of USD$500 million by the end of this year.
The Forum said its renewed efforts to engage in the international community is intended to build momentum toward pre-COP31 in Fiji and Tuvalu in October and COP31 in Türkiye in November.
“The PIF brings to the United Nations a clear message: the challenges facing our region are inseparable from the global challenges before us," said Baron Divavesi Waqa, the Forum's secretary general.
"We must move from commitments to implementation, from vulnerability to resilience, and from fragmented responses to stronger, more coherent international partnerships that deliver for our peoples,” he added.
The annual PIF Leaders’ Dialogue with UN Secretary-General António Guterres will be convened on Sept. 25, reaffirming the Forum’s strategic engagement with the United Nations and providing an important platform to advance Pacific priorities within the multilateral agenda, including the partnership between regional organizations and UN agencies in the region.
Forum leaders said their presence at UNGA81 offers an important opportunity to project a strong, unified regional voice on issues central to the Pacific’s future, including climate change, sustainable development, ocean governance, development finance and the escalating threat posed by sea-level rise.
The UNGA81 is themed “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”
Forum leaders said they will reinforce the importance of a multilateral system that is responsive to Pacific priorities and our lived realities.
With Pacific-hosted Pre-COP31 engagement in two weeks' time, UNGA81 provides an important opportunity to carry forward the momentum from the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, build wider coalitions around Pacific climate priorities and strengthen convergence ahead of COP31.
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