The 38th Pacific Islands Forum leaders agreed Monday to move forward the Pacific Plan adopted two years ago in the next 12 months.
The agreement was reached at the end of the Forum meeting held here from Oct. 16 to 17, which was attended by 16 leaders or representatives of member states of the regional organization.
Leaders agreed on a number of key commitments to priority areas like fisheries, energy, trade and economic integration, climate change and transport, in order to move the Plan forward in the next 12 months.
Leaders said fisheries represent one of the region’s strongest drivers for sustainable economic growth. As a source of both export revenue and food security, efforts must continue to maintain regional solidarity among Forum Members in their management of these fish stocks, particularly tuna.
They called for greater effort to foster a long-term strategic approach to ensuring that these resources are effectively managed and provide enduring benefits for all Forum Member countries.
Leaders welcomed with appreciation the 5 million NZ dollars (3.8 million U.S. dollars) contribution to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community tuna tagging program announced by New Zealand and the 500,000 Australian dollars (450,000 U.S. dollars) contribution as incentive funding to recognize effective action by Pacific Island Countries to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing announced by Australia.