– Government of Republic of Korea Reaffirms Commitment to Seeking Strengthened Practical Cooperation with Pacific Islands through Senior Officials’ Meetings –

The 8th Korea-Pacific Islands Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM)* was held on May 21 (Thu.) in Nadi, Fiji, co-chaired by CHUNG Eui-hae, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Joseph MA’AHANUA, High Commissioner of Solomon Islands to the Republic of Fiji. Delegates from members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)** and the PIF Secretariat also participated in the meeting.

* The Korea-Pacific Islands Senior Officials’ Meeting is convened in between the biennially held Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

** Pacific Islands Forum (PIF): An annually convened summit platform established in 1971 to promote development in the South Pacific region

   - Member states (18): ▴14 Pacific island countries (Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Palau and Fiji), ▴2 overseas French collectivities (New Caledonia and French Polynesia), and ▴Australia and New Zealand

The meeting serves as a regularly held high-level consultative mechanism with Pacific island countries whose strategic importance continues to grow. During the two sessions of this year’s meeting, the Korean government engaged in in-depth discussions on cooperation with Pacific island countries. The first session focused on ways to enhance practical cooperation and explored future directions for cooperation. The second session covered the progress of projects conducted with the Korea-PIF Cooperation Fund and the activities of Korean companies in the Pacific region. Through these discussions, participants assessed the progress in cooperation and broadly discussed long-term development directions.

In her opening remarks, Deputy Minister CHUNG emphasized that, as a responsible global power, Korea will continue supporting the sustainable development of Pacific island countries in line with the priorities set out in the “2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent,” an initiative led by PIF members to achieve peace, security and prosperity in the Pacific region. She also expressed hope that Korea and Pacific island countries would continue their cooperation in a mutually beneficial and sustainable manner in addressing the current energy crisis and in related areas.

Representatives of Pacific island countries highly appreciated the Korean government’s commitment to cooperation with the region and expressed deep gratitude, in particular for Korea’s decision to contribute to the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF)*. They further requested Korea’s support on key issues of concern to Pacific island countries including energy and climate change, as well as the country’s interest in and support for the Pre-COP31** meeting to be held in Fiji this October.

* An international organization and fund being established under the leadership of PIF member states to support climate change response efforts in Pacific island communities

** A preparatory meeting held ahead of the COP31 conference to coordinate key agenda items related to climate, oceans and resilience in the Pacific region

On the margins of the meeting, Deputy Minister CHUNG held bilateral talks with representatives from the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau and Fiji. During these bilateral meetings, the two sides discussed ▴bilateral relations, ▴development cooperation, ▴climate change and ▴elections in international organizations, and agreed to maintain close coordination in the future.

The 8th Korea-Pacific Islands Senior Officials’ Meeting served as an opportunity to reaffirm the Korean government’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Pacific island countries for peace and shared prosperity in the Pacific region. The Korean government plans to continue regularly holding high-level exchanges with Pacific islands and sustain discussions in various fields including ▴development cooperation, ▴climate change and ▴oceans, in the lead up to the next, 7th Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.