Palau opens doors to dialogue partners ahead of Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting

Palau is sending a clear message of inclusion as it readies to host one of the Pacific’s most important diplomatic gatherings this August.

This comes as President Surangel Whipps Jr confirms all dialogue partners are welcomed back to this year’s Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting.

“We want to make sure that everybody is welcome, that’s what partnership is all about in the Pacific,” Whipps tells PMN News.

The 2026 meeting marks a return to full engagement with dialogue partners after last year’s forum in the Solomon Islands excluded them.

Whipps says international partners have already expressed strong interest.

Scheduling is being coordinated around ministerial meetings in Asia the week before the leaders’ forum.

Surangel Samuel Whipps Jr. is a Palauan businessman and politician who has served as the president of Palau since 2021. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

Palau has also started high-level diplomatic engagements, which included hosting New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters last week.

In an interview on Pacific Mornings, Peters says Palau and New Zealand are working together to ensure the Forum strengthens regional stability.

“What happened in the Solomon Islands is sad, but we've got past it,” Peters says. “But our major project is to win the election and then carry on in the larger sphere of world affairs in terms of foreign affairs, doing our job and making sure that this country's reputation and its voice is seriously respected.

Watch President Whipps' full interview below.

“Small countries matter. That's the message New Zealand is selling big time, and that's why we're standing up to big countries.”

The 2026 forum will precede Aotearoa’s hosting duties in 2027 when a new Forum secretary-general will be selected. The new role is set to come from Melanesia under the PIF Suva agreement.

Peters said Palau's leadership this year is key to maintaining continuity and stability with dialogue partners.

Whipps confirmed he would visit New Zealand in April to strengthen business and infrastructure ties.

“One of the things I told Minister Peters is our runway, when it was built 40 years ago, was built by Downer and Fletcher, New Zealand companies,” Whipps says. “That's what we want to see. We want to see what ways in the Pacific we can support each other.”

Watch Winston Peters' full interview below.

The forum also provides a platform to advance the Pacific 2050 Strategy, a regional framework for sustainable development, climate resilience, and economic growth.

Whipps said dialogue partners should participate in supporting the region’s shared priorities. “But our partners that want to come to a PIF should be coming and sharing how they’re going to help the blue Pacific continent meet the 2050 strategy.”

With the leaders’ meeting scheduled for August, Palau is positioning itself as a host committed to inclusivity, collaboration, and regional unity, sending a strong signal that dialogue partners are welcomed back to the table.