Dec 15, 2022--“The Pacific alone can make a huge difference. And we have. But the Blue Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean together, with the help of our partners, can be transformational and unstoppable”. Words of the Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of Samoa as she addressed on December 9th, the 10th OACPS Summit of Heads of State and Government on behalf of the Pacific region. Hosted by His Excellency Joao Manuel Gonçaves Laurenço, President of the Republic of Angola, the Summit of the 79 member nations of the Office of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States concluded late this evening in Luanda, Angola with the Blue Pacific featuring strongly in discussions that were centered around the summit theme of ‘3 Continents, 3 Oceans, 1 Common Destiny: Building a Resilient and Sustainable OACPS’.
Led by Prime Minister Mata’afa of Samoa, the Pacific delegation included the Hon. John Rosso, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Lands and Physical Planning of Papua New Guinea, Hon. Sato Kilman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Land and Natural Resource of Vanuatu, Hon. Jeremiah Manele, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the Solomon Islands and Her Excellency Titilupe Tu'ivakano, High Commissioner of Tonga to the United Kingdom. PIF Observer Timor Leste was also in attendance.
The Pacific delegation made interventions that spoke to priorities encompassed in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent including climate change as the single greatest threat to our security, preserving maritime zones in the face of climate change related sea-level rise, and securing OACPS commitment to adopt the United Nations General Assembly Resolution for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on Climate Change.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
