The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is the premier political and economic policy body of the Pacific region. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum and renamed the Pacific Islands Forum in 2000 to better reflect its expanding northern Pacific membership. Its secretariat is based in Suva, Fiji.
Membership comprises 18 states and territories: Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The Forum holds an annual Leaders' Meeting at which heads of government adopt communiqués setting the regional agenda.
The PIF operates through several core instruments. The Biketawa Declaration (2000) established a framework for regional responses to political crises and was invoked to authorise the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in 2003. The Boe Declaration on Regional Security (2018) formally recognised climate change as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of Pacific peoples, broadening the concept of security to include human, environmental, and cybersecurity dimensions. The 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, endorsed in 2022, sets a long-term vision across seven thematic pillars.
The Forum has also been central to climate diplomacy, advocating the 1.5°C warming limit during UNFCCC negotiations and pressing for loss-and-damage finance. It coordinates regional fisheries policy via affiliated bodies such as the Forum Fisheries Agency.
The PIF has experienced periods of internal strain. Fiji was suspended from 2009 to 2014 following the 2006 coup. In February 2021 the five Micronesian members announced their intention to withdraw over a disputed Secretary-General selection; the dispute was resolved through the 2022 Suva Agreement, keeping the bloc intact.
Example
At the 2023 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting in Rarotonga, members endorsed the Cook Islands' chairmanship priorities and reaffirmed the Boe Declaration's recognition of climate change as the region's paramount security threat.
Frequently asked questions
The PIF has 18 members: Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
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