By Lagi Keresoma<\/p>\n
APIA, SAMOA – 09 JUNE 2023:<\/strong> The Secretary General for the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Henry Puna is currently in Samoa and met with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa on issues pertaining to the region.<\/p>\n \u201cI had an open sharing with Prime Minister Fiame and her thinking really aligns with what we think is happening in our region and more importantly how we can address those issues,\u201d said Puna.<\/p>\n In his first visit to PIF member countries since the Covid-19 lockdowns, the Secretary General also met with members of the private sector and civil society in Samoa before he leaves for Australia tomorrow.<\/p>\n Geo-political interest in the Pacific<\/strong> \u201cI can say we picked up pace when the Solomon Islands had their security deal with China\u00a0 and I think that was a wakeup call for our regional partners, especially with the US who has been absent from the Pacific for a long time,\u201d said Puna.<\/p>\n He said what the US thought was their playground is now being taken over by China and it was unfortunate that the US President could not attend the PIF summit in Port Moresby recently where we could have followed up on the US commitment made in Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cFiame has spoken her mind on how she thought we should deal with these new developments, and what is very important in the face of these issues is that we must never abandon the Pacific Way,\u201d said Puna.<\/p>\n With regards to the security interest of the superpowers in the region, most of PIF\u2019s member states have adopted a \u201cfriend to all enemies\u201d approach.<\/p>\n He said because the region is so small, they cannot afford to make enemies so they need to make friends with everyone but in particular cases, the international Governments have sided where their best interests can be served<\/p>\n\u201cWe must be aware of the potential danger of the current geo-political interests in the region and we want our leaders to focus on ensuring that whoever wants to partner with us does so on our terms and in alignment with our priorities,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> said Henry Puna.<\/span><\/a><\/span>\n Although he sees opportunities in the current interest in the region, he said it could also be a temptation and a pitfall.<\/p>\n Never lose sight of the Pacific Way<\/strong> \u201cThe Pacific Way is similar to the\u00a0Fa\u2019a Samoa<\/em>\u00a0with its traditional way of addressing issues, sharing ideas and keeping a regional perspective and that is the Pacific cornerstone of our regionalism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He believes the Pacific had moved away slightly from it in the past two years since the lockdown, but now we need to get back to it and our leaders are starting to revive and renew those policies and processes.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe in regionalism and I believe that the Pacific way will endure into the future,\u201d said Puna.<\/p>\n He referred to the COP 21 in Paris where the world came together to support a climate change issue pushed by the Pacific countries.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether we can make a difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\nOne of the issues he touched base on with Samoa\u2019s Prime Minister Fiame is the renewed geo-political interests in the region.<\/p>\n
\nPuna said the Pacific Way means everything to the region and it\u2019s the foundation of collective Pacific Island countries and we should never lose sight or move away from it.<\/p>\n