Pacific Islands Forum gets green light to travel to New Caledonia

A high-level delegation from the Pacific Islands Forum will visit New Caledonia in the coming weeks, PIF chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown, says.

The decision comes after French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, confirmed to Brown of President Emmanuel Macron’s support for a PIF tour to Noumēa.

Roger-Lacan was in Fiji on Friday for the PIF Foreign Ministers Meeting to "continue the dialogue…and explain the facts" surrounding the Forum's request to visit the French territory.

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, three special envoys and officials from across the 18-member forum countries were in Suva for the PIFFM talks.

PIF Foreign Minister Meeting at the Forum Secretariat in Suva on Friday. Photo/Ala Vailala

New Caledonia has been rocked with political unrest after protests and riots broke out in the capital Noumēa on 13 May.

The violent unrest has led to 10 deaths, the declaration of a state of emergency on 16 May, deployment of the French army, and the blocking of the social network TikTok.

Addressing the media in Suva on Friday, Brown said he had received a letter from Ambassador Roger-Lacan confirming President Macron’s support for PIF’s request for a high-level Pacific Mission to New Caledonia.

Brown said the request was endorsed last month.

He said the tour would take place before the PIF leaders' summit in Tonga later this month.

"This will be a Troika-led mission, and at this stage, the Forum Secretariat and the French Ambassador and her team are working through the details on timing of the mission.

“It is hoped to be before the leaders' meeting at the end of this month, and also for the programme of meetings and discussions that will take place in New Caledonia.”

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva. Photo/Ala Vailala

The Troika-led mission will include Brown, Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, and Solomon Islands PM, Jeremiah Manele.

Tongan PM Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni was initially part of the tour but due to obligations at home, particularly preparations for the leaders' meeting in the Kingdom later this month, he will not be travelling to Noumēa.

At the meeting, the foreign ministers received applications for associate membership from Guam and American Samoa.

These will be considered by the forum leaders at the Tonga summit.

A Pacific Islands Policing Initiative proposed by the Australian Federal Police with an estimated budget of more than $800 million was also discussed in Suva, Brown said.

"The project aims to establish a 200-strong cohort of highly-trained Pacific police officers with training centres across the region.

"The initiative has been commended by the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police and will be conveyed for endorsement at the Leaders meeting in Tonga."

The forum leaders meeting will be held in Nuku'alofa from 26-30 August.

Hu’akavameiliku will assume the forum chair at the summit.