The 70th Pacific Islands Forum closed at the beginning of the week, following the traditional leaders’ retreat.
This edition confirmed the unfortunately constant trend in the relations between the Pacific Islands States and the big partner states of the region (China, United States, Japan, Australia).
The agenda was simple however: to define coordinated actions and to obtain the technical and financial support of the partners to put in place concrete measures of aid to the States now seriously affected by climate change. As it has today come to the point that Kiribati and Tuvalu are no longer able to provide information and datas on their economic growth as the cost of actions to combat rising water levels, drinking water issues and social impacts are too large amounts to thus provide a clear and realistic situation of the economy.
From this now obvious observation, the members of the Forum tried to convince the big partner states but also those responsible for climate change to participate but in a pro-active way: no more international aid systems! The Pacific Islands wanted a constructive and productive partnership to put in place solutions that would benefit them anyway, as no one is now spared.
Unfortunately, some governments are determined not to face the reality. The call for solidarity with their island neighbors meets deaf hears and so this Forum ended without real progress again this year.
To the big states’ defense, the members of the Forum certainly lacked coordination. The wishes of regionalism, which have been heard more and more over the past ten years, still do not find any echoes, and the links between each island and its great partner state (often the result of historical links) further disrupt exchanges and intra-regional cooperation.
In the meantime, the fight against climate change is becoming increasingly expensive and the long-term global economic slowdown is on the horizon.