BY NED GAGAHE

Leaders and senior officials of Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member countries touched down in Honiara yesterday as preparations wrapped up for the official opening of the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM54) this evening.

Among those who arrived yesterday morning were Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, French Polynesia’s President Moetai Brotherson, Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau, and Samoa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade CEO Ms Peseta Noumea Simi, who is representing Samoa.

Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said the Government and people of Solomon Islands are ready to host a successful Forum, reaffirming the importance of unity among Pacific nations.

“We are only as strong as our smallest member. Iumi Tugeda is a reaffirmation of unity, emphasising the urgency to move from strategy development to implementation,” Mr Manele said.

He added that Solomon Islands, as host and incoming Forum Chair, is committed to achieving tangible outcomes from this year’s meeting.

“The future we want depends on the changes we make today – in our economy, ocean management, commitment to peace, and building a stronger, more united region,” the Prime Minister stressed.

Delegates and representatives from 17 member countries are now in Honiara, with Solomon Islands bringing the total number of attendees to 18.

To mark the start of the week’s program, a church service was held yesterday at St Barnabas Cathedral, attended by Prime Minister Manele, PIF Secretary-General Baron Waqa, Pacific leaders, and senior government officials.

BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
The 54th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting begins today in Honiara and will run from Monday to Friday, September 8-12.
The theme for the one-week leaders meeting is “Iumi Together, Act now for an Integrated Blue Pacific”.
The purpose of the PIF is for the leaders of Pacific countries to meet, develop collective responses to regional issues, address challenges, promote a vision of a resilient Pacific, and foster regional unity and cooperation for peace, harmony, security, social inclusion, and prosperity.
Day-one of the PIF, Monday, September 8, is as follows;
• 09:00 Smaller Island States Leaders Meeting
• 11:30 Pacific ACP Leaders Meeting
• 16:00-17:00 TEPUKE and UTO NI YALO Event
• 18:00-20:00 Opening Ceremony Stadium, Sports City
• 20:00-21:00 Opening Dinner Friendship Hall
Delegates and Representatives from seventeen member countries of the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) are now in Honiara for the meeting. Solomon Islands, as the chair of the 54th PIFLM, brings the total number of attendees to 18.
To begin this week’s high-level meeting, a church service was held yesterday at St. Barnabas Cathedral, attended by Prime Minister Hon. Jeremiah Manele, Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Baron Waqa, Pacific leaders, and other government officials.
Before this week’s meeting, members of the local and regional media personnel have convened two training workshops: the Interview Skills and Professional Etiquette workshop and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA/PIFS) Forum Regional Media Workshop.
Around 40 local and regional journalists attended the workshop over the past three days in preparation for the PIF meeting.
The Pacific Islands Forum comprises 18 members: Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Transparency Solomon Islands chief executive officer Ruth Liloqula has applauded Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele and Pacific Island Leaders (PIF) for postponing the post-forum partner dialogue.
Speaking to this paper recently, Liloqula said that the bold stand taken by the leaders will allow them to discuss that of concern and importance to the region.
She said that she is proud and applauds Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele for putting forward to the leaders to postpone the dialogue.
“That is a very bold statement that our PM has taken and agreed upon by Pacific Leaders. So, I congratulate our PM as well as our leaders in the Pacific to hold the partner dialogue because it allows leaders to talk with their people, like the Civil Society Organisation (CSO), spending time to look at something that they should look at,” she said.
She said that most of the time, partners usually occupy the time during such big events.
“So, I’m proud of the bold decision taken by the PM to give more time to engage with CSO. And I think it’s time for us to showcase that we can also do it, so that our issues can be amplified to other partners in the region as well,” she said.
She also said that she is excited for the country to host such a major regional event.
“I am excited about us hosting the PIF. Quite many problems we go through, we are hosting several regional events showcasing govt commitments,” she said.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Government through the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) plans to expand seaweed production to 10,000 metric tonnes by 2026.
Deputy Director of Aquaculture Division of MFMR, Mr Wesley Garofe outlined the proposal during a Ministry’s recent radio programme.
Garofe provided briefed history on this sea plant gold, said seaweed was introduced into the country from Fiji in the early 1990s.
He said it was introduced to Rarumana in Western province and gradually grew among coastal communities in the country.
Wagina in Choiseul province, Lau in Northeast Malaita, Shortland, Small Malaita, West Kwara’ae Ngella and Russell, Marau and other places on around the country.
Garofe emphasised seaweed farming provides option for coastal communities as another sources of income.
He added seaweed farming provides options for coastal communities as another sources of income. And Wagina is the most productive site in the country.
It produces almost 70 percent of the total seaweed products going out of country.
Saying 30% of the production comes from other sites in the country.
In the meantime, Garofe also said MFMR is aware of the situation recently experienced at Wagina, where seaweed farms destroyed by tsunami.
He said MFMR is working on it and soon will send a team to determine the sale of damage and allow Ministry to draw up plan to respond to the situation. The program aims for the recovery of the damage.
Garofe mentioned that as part of pursuit to achieve the 10,000 metric tonnes, national government through MFMR will continue to support seaweed development in the country.
“The government through MFMR will continue to support existing farmers with farming materials and training as well as start-up materials for new farmers,” he said.
Garofe called on coastal communities in the country that seaweed farming program is ongoing and encouraged interested farmers to go into the development.
“The process is to express your interest in submission to the provincial fisheries office or to the MFMR headquarter or even consult staff at the office,” Garofe said.

BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Terio Koronawa, senior policy advisor for the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and former team leader for Regional Security, has said development is the cornerstone of the Ocean Peace Declaration.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) will issue its first-ever declaration on “Ocean of Peace” during the PIFL Meeting in Honiara this week, reinforcing regional commitments to preventing militarisation, protecting oceans, and maintaining stability across the Pacific.
“The declaration recognises that development is important within the region, and if we are not able to address the insecurities within the communities, we will not be at peace,” Koronawa updated media professionals ahead of this week’s PIF.
He said that the Declaration extends beyond the strategic focus areas of the declaration.
He said that as a region, the definition of security is framed around what is called a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) declaration.
“We’re not really too focused on the traditional or the hard aspect of security, but the non-traditional, soft aspect of security, climate change, health security, economic security,” he said.
“So, the declaration builds beyond that and ensures that for us to establish peace within the communities, within the region, it’s important that we address the development issues that exist within the region,” said Koronawa.
He said that the declaration looks at how the Pacific can better manage geopolitics in terms of what’s happening within the region, which he says is easier said than done at this point.
“But it’s something that we will look at in detail in terms of what it will look like when it comes to operationalisation. The Declaration is an opportunity to tell the world who we are, our expectations in terms of security, our expectations of them when they come into the region, where we continue to advocate for peace, declaring the Pacific as a region of peace, and they should behave in ways that we behave and what we expect of them. That is essentially what the Ocean of Peace Declaration tries to put through,” he said.
He said that it recognises leaders’ commitment to what the Pacific will commit to in terms of partners coming to work within the region.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI
The Pacific Island Forum Secretary General, His Excellency Baron Devavesi Waqa acknowledges regional media, who are in Honiara for the 54th PIF meeting, for their commitment to continue to tell the stories of the Blue Pacific region.
Speaking at a three-day regional media training, organised by PIF through Pacific Island News Association (PINA) and Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) that concluded yesterday, the Secretary General underscored the significant role played by media, who are not just observers, but part of the Pacific story.
“You are the eyes and ears of our communities, the trusted voices that help our people make sense of the challenges we face, and the agents of accountability who help keep our institutions transparent and responsive,” he said.
Highlighted that the theme for this year’s meeting “Iumi Tugeda: Act Now for an Integrated Blue Pacific Continent” rings through the shared partnership between PIF and media.
“Your work helps ensure that regional priorities, whether it’s climate change, ocean governance, security, or economic resilience are communicated with accuracy, urgency, and context.
“These are not just policy issues. They are lived realities for our people. Your storytelling brings these realities to life in ways that policy documents alone cannot.
“As Forum Leaders prepare to meet in the Solomon Islands this coming week, your role becomes even more vital.
“The decisions taken during the meetings of the Forum Leaders will shape the direction of our region for years to come.
“Your coverage, in a truthful, fair, accurate, and balanced way, will shape how those decisions are understood, debated, and remembered by our Pacific citizens,” Waqa said.
PIF understands around 140 regional journalists were accredited for the meeting – making the largest delegation to Honiara.
He said PIF recognised the shortfalls face by media in terms of limited resources, fast changing technologies and lack of recognition, but they valued and committed to work with media.
On the same note, Waqa reaffirmed the support of PIF to ensure the regional media workshop is convened every year.
“Let this workshop not be an end, but a beginning—a platform for stronger collaboration between Forum institutions and regional media.
“Let us continue to further build upon established mutual trust, open dialogue, and shared understanding, so that together, we can amplify the voices of the Blue Pacific Continent.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI
Member of Parliament for Lau/Mbaelelea, Ben Maenu’u has supported Takwa clinic and Adaua provincial secondary school with brand new vehicles.
The support is part of the MP’s commitment to boost important services offered by the two institutions in Lau/Mbaelelea constituency, surrounding constituencies and even Malaita province.
The vehicles were handed last week, where Takwa clinic received an ambulance, health equipment & medical drugs, while Adaua school received a 3-tonne truck.
A statement issued by Mr Eddie Kairi on the handover said the assistance to Takwa clinic was in response to an encounter witnessed by MP Maenu’u last year, where a sick woman was pushed by her daughter in a wheelbarrow to the clinic.
“I vow to bring change and I deliver this ambulance to ensure no one in our constituency faces such hardship again,” Maenu’u said.
He added the ambulance also to address critical gap in terms of emergency medical transport that has been faced in the constituency.
Maenu’u said the ambulance will serve health facilities within the constituency and surrounding constituencies, as far as ward 6.
In the meantime, the leader also donated a 3-tonne truck to Adaua provincial secondary. The support marks a significant milestone in enhancing educational access for students and staffs.
The support also shows Maenu’u’s commitment to the nation’s future through education. It will benefit students and staffs from around Malaita even other provinces that doing their studies at the school.
The truck will used for the logistic need of the schools include; transportation of student and staff, delivery of supplies and access to educational opportunities across the constituency.
The MP assured to work closely with public institutions, communities and people of Lau/Mbaelelea to address some of the challenges face within the constituency.