Aotearoa to host Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in 2027 - PM

New Zealand has been confirmed as the host of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (PIFLM) for 2027, marking the first time in 14 years that Aotearoa will host the event.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the confirmation while attending the 54th PIFLM in Honiara this week.

He described the opportunity as a “great honour” and a chance to strengthen unity among Pacific island nations.

Luxon says the commitment highlights New Zealand’s dedication to Pacific regionalism.

“I really look forward to being able to chair that meeting through the course of that year, build an even tighter consensus, and more unity.

“We want to keep strengthening and reinforcing the centrality of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and have stronger regionalism.”

Christopher Luxon is in Honiara where he confirmed New Zealand will be hosting the 2027 PIFLM. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

While in the Solomon Islands, Luxon met with Palau’s President, Surangel Whipps Jr, who will host the PIFLM in 2026.

“As we work together as what’s called the [PIF] Troika, it’s also just making sure as they think about the agenda for next year. We’ll stay close on co-ordinating around some of those aspects,” Luxon says.

The bid to host the PIFLM 2027 was made in August by Foreign Affairs Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters during the PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Suva.

Pacific leaders from over 18 countires in the region are in Honiara for the 54th PIFLM forum. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

New Zealand currently provides 60 per cent of aid funding to the Pacific, with 38 government agencies operating in the region.

But this year saw a pause in aid to the Cook Islands due to the lack of consultation prior to Rarotonga signing an agreement with China.

Luxon has since had discussions with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown while in Honiara, with the situation now under review by officials.

“We’ll have a broader political conversation once that’s completed. But again, it doesn’t preclude us from being civil and respectful of each other,” Luxon says.

He also met with Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau, following a $102 million aid review for the period from 2021 to 2024, which Peters described as a result of a lack of engagement.

Watch the opening ceremony for the 54th PIFLM below.

The meeting came after Peters had to cancel a trip to Kiribati due to Maamau’s unavailability in Tarawa.

On the aid review, Luxon says the bilateral meeting provided an opportunity to understand the challenges facing Kiribati.

“We’re still working through [the aid review],” he says. “Our officials will work that through in the next few weeks with a view that there might be an opportunity for Minister Peters to catch up with President [Maamau] in New York [for the United Nations General Assembly]”.

The Leaders’ Meeting in Honiara ends on Friday.