Melanesian Leaders Sign Security and Climate Change Declarations

Melanesian Prime Ministers have affixed their signatures to two declarations addressing the pressing issues of climate change and national security.

The ceremonial signing took place at the Havannah Resort in north Efate yesterday, marking the culmination of the 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders’ Summit Retreat.

The distinguished signatories of these declarations include Prime Minister (PM) Ishmael Kalsakau of Vanuatu, PM Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands, PM James Marape of Papua New Guinea, PM Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji, and Victor Tutugoro, spokesperson of the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS).

The history of these agreements commenced with the inaugural accord inked in Lakatoro, Malekula, in 1994. Subsequent gatherings saw the signing of a second pact in Port Vila in 1998, followed by the third document signed during a Leaders’ Summit held in the Solomon Islands.

PM Kalsakau expressed satisfaction with the Summit’s proceedings, highlighting the successful collaboration that yielded two comprehensive documents. He noted that these papers are both content-rich and orderly in outlining MSG’s strategic course on matters of importance to the region’s populace.

He acknowledged the impactful presence of strong and visionary leadership, which serves to refine the direction and purpose of Melanesia, ensuring it remains steadfastly on the right course.He further expressed his contentment with the summit’s conclusion, characterising it as a joyous occasion.

“To ensure the safeguarding of Melanesia’s wellbeing and to achieve the highest levels of contentment among its people on the horizon, we have united as a collective whole,” PM Kalsakau remarked. He extended gratitude to his esteemed colleagues for their invaluable contributions to shaping the final outcomes.

Concluding his address, he invoked blessings upon the people of Melanesia and expressed his profound gratitude for the presence of all attendees. This unity and collaboration, he affirmed, is the cornerstone of progress for the entire region.

To further solidify this agreement, the leaders partook in a tradition deeply rooted in Vanuatu culture – sharing a shell of kava to conclude the regional diplomatic dialogue.

doddy@dailypost.vu

Benny Wenda appil long MSG lida mas tingim Melanesian pipol blong West Papua

Chairman blong United Liberation Movement for West Papua, Benny Wenda hem expressim hope se ol Melanesian leaders bae akseptem applikesen blong olketa Melanesian pipol blong West Papua and letem olketa bikam full memba blong Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Mr Wenda hem se olsem taem olketa lida blong Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and olketa FLNKS blong New Caledonia olketa mit long Port Vila tude and tumoro long mek 22 MSG Leaders Summit miting blong olketa.

Hem se hem hope bae olketa MSG lida letem olketa Melanesian pipol blong West Papua olketa sevaev, sapos nogat, bae olketa olsem ol indigenous pipol blong North Afrika, North Amerika and long Australia.

Long audio bae yu harem Mr Wenda ibin storian wetem niusman Hilaire Bule long Port Vila long Tuesday.

Broadcast 23 Aug 2023, Source ABC23 Aug 202

West Papua on MSG Summit Agenda 23-24 August 2023

West Papua

This year's agenda also includes the issue of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application to become a full member of the sub-regional body.

The movement is present at the meeting, as well as a big delegation from Indonesia, represented by its vice minister for foreign affairs.

However, neither Seremaiah nor Louma made any mention of West Papua in their opening statements.

West Papua observers and advocates at the meeting say the MSG is like a "custom haus or nakamal" for the Melanesian people.

They say Vanuatu has the opportunity to make this more than a "normal MSG" if it can be the country that gets the MSG Leaders' Summit to agree to make the ULMWP a full member

MSG PRE-SUMMIT SENIOR OFFICIALS MEETING CONCLUDES

PORT VILA, VANUATU (19 August 2023): The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Pre-Summit Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) has just concluded at the MSG Secretariat.

Its outcomes will be deliberated on at the MSG Pre-Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) scheduled for Monday. 

 

Both meetings precede the upcoming 22nd MSG Leader's Summit, the pre-eminent decision-making body of the MSG which begins on Wednesday.

Vanuatu is currently Chair of the MSG.

MSG Senior Officials Meeting Today

The 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders’ Summit (LS) will be held in Port Vila, from 23 to 24 August 2023, under the fitting theme of “MSG, being relevant and influential”.

The 22nd biennial meeting is being hosted by Vanuatu as Chair of the MSG, and is being convened five years since the last Summit was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) in February 2018.

As Chair of the MSG, Prime Minister (PM) Ishmael Kalsakau has expressed his immense honour and pleasure at hosting MSG Leaders in Port Vila for the 22nd MSG LS.

Noting that Port Vila also hosts headquarters of the MSG Secretariat, and the recently concluded 7th Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival (MACFEST), which celebrated the rich and diverse Melanesian arts and cultural heritage.

He further asserted that the Meeting proffered an invaluable opportunity and platform for discourse, deriving common positions on issues of mutual interest, for leverage at subsequent regional and international platforms.

Leaders of the MSG, comprises Fiji, Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) of New Caledonia, PNG and Solomon Islands are expected to attend, with Indonesia participating as an Associate Member, and the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) as Observer.

In addition to significant policy issues pertaining to the MSG, such as Climate Change, human rights and nuclear issues, it is envisaged that the LS may also consider a bid for membership by the ULMWP. MSG LSs are normally divided into two parts, being an open plenary and a Leaders’ Retreat.

In his capacity as Chairperson of the MSG, the Vanuatu PM also extended Special Guest invitations to the Governments of Australia, China, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Israel.

Invitations to Special Guests remain the prerogative of the MSG Chair and hosts of Leaders Summits. Special Guests and Observers will be given an opportunity to address MSG Leaders at the plenary on any cooperation matters.

Prior to the LS, Foreign Ministers of the MSG will also meet on Monday, 21 August, preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting of the MSG.

The latter is due to be convened today, Saturday, 19 August 2023

Pacific news in brief for August 16

West Papua - beaten

Media in Papua says at least 16 activists from the West Papua National Committee or KNPB were beaten by the police while holding a demonstration commemorating the New York agreement in Sentani, Jayapura Regency on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the KNPB, Ones Suhuniap, said most of those who were hit suffered serious head injuries.

Suhuniap said the police used batons to beat up demonstrators in Sentani and fired water cannons to disperse the crowd.

The KNPB simultaneously held demonstrations in Papua and in other parts of Indonesia.

This action was to ask the UN to review the 1962 New York agreement through which the Netherlands and Indonesia agreed to transfer control of Papua from the Netherlands to Indonesia.

Pacific - MSG meeting

The 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders' Summit will be held in Port Vila next week.

The summit was supposed to be held from July 17 to 21, but it had to be rescheduled because Solomon Islands had a clash with their Parliament sitting and Vanuatu was also busy hosting the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival, alongside the arrival of the French President.

Vanuatu's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Matai Seremiah, confirmed the new date for the summit to the Daily Post on Tuesday, after being briefed on the event.

Seremiah said the summit will be held from Wednesday to Thursday following the Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting and the officials' meeting.

Pacific/Germany - abandoned

Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has abandoned a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji after a problem with her government plane twice forced it to return to Abu Dhabi.

AP reports Baerbock set off from Berlin on Sunday on what was supposed to be a nearly weeklong trip.

But after two episodes of a technical issue, Baerbock wrote on X - formerly known as Twitter - it was not logistically possible to continue her Indo-Pacific trip.

She added the Pacific region will mark the world order of the 21st century decisively.

Nothern Marianas - tourism

Northern Marianas' tourism industry has continued its upward trend with more than 25,000 tourists visiting the islands last month.

The Marianas Visitors Authority said the CNMI received 10,367 visitors in the same month a year earlier - in July 2022.

Visitor arrivals from South Korea reached 20,627 last month.

The Authority said strong demand in Korea has generated an abundance of air service to the Marianas.

Forum - troika

The Pacific Islands Forum or PIF Troika met in Suva last week ahead of the Leaders Meeting to be held in Rarotonga later this year.

The Forum Troika is the leadership group made up of the past present and future chairs of the regional organisation.

The prime ministers of the Cook Islands, Tonga and Fiji met to discuss their role within the Troika mechanism.

Cook Islands PM and the current Forum chair, Mark Brown, said an update was given on arrangements for the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum, which will be held in Rarotonga and Aitutaki from November 6-10.

The leaders also considered an update on the Pacific Resilience Facility, which provides full-grant financing without debt for disaster preparedness in the region.

West Papua - drought

The head of the Puncak Disaster Management Agency in West Papua has confirmed that her office has distributed food assistance across 15 villages in Puncak Regency.

Yuniet Murib said these villages in Central Papua Province have been significantly affected by an ongoing drought.

Jubi TV reports Murib saying 8,000 people have been affected.

According to data compiled by the disaster agency, six fatalities have been reported in the three districts due to the famine.

Tonga - conference

A preparatory meeting for next year's International Conference on Small Island Developing States is underway in Tonga, where delegates from 38 independent Small Island States are in attendance.

Tonga's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fekita Utoikamanu said many challenges need to be discussed.

"Small island developing states have experienced an increasing and evermore complex mix of challenges," she said.

"We have coped with multiple crises. The SIDS as far back as 1994 in Barbados alerted to the threat of climate change and this is now an existential threat on many levels.

Melanesian Leaders Summit Postponed

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders Summit proposed to be held from July 17 to 21 is postponed to another date, which is yet to be confirmed.

This was confirmed by the Foreign Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Jotham Napat. He said the MSG Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting last month proposed this date pending confirmation from each member country.

Foreign Affairs Minister Napat said they have received a confirmation from the government of Solomon Islands noting they have a clash with their Parliament Sitting, therefore the meeting had to be rescheduled.

“Vanuatu’s Prime Minister as Chair of the MSG will write to the members for them to reschedule the meeting on another date where every leaders are available to complete their issues,” he told the Daily Post.

“For Vanuatu, July is already full of activities. The President of France is arriving soon. We are looking at organising the meeting in August.”

Asked to confirm whether the endorsement of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (UMLWP) as a full member of MSG is going to be an agenda at this Leaders Meeting, the DPM replied that this was not discussed at the MSG Foreign Affairs Minister Meeting.

He explained that the Foreign Affairs Minister Meeting discussed only the budget and its approval, however the application for UMLWP becoming a full member will be discussed in a retreat by the MSG Prime Ministers before any adoption. Vanuatu has strongly been supporting this agenda.

The Jakarta Globe reported that the DPM and Foreign Affairs Minister has discussed the possibility of Vanuatu opening an embassy in Indonesia with his Indonesian counterpart during his visit there last month.

He said he told his counterpart about Vanuatu’s push for West Papua to be part of MSG. “Indonesia has been very frank about this matter. They consider West Papua as part of them and they told us that we (Vanuatu) are undermining their sovereignty.

“This does not stop us to keep pushing this agenda to the MSG Leaders to decide on it. It’s a sensitive issue that needs to be agreed by all leaders. Every decision are to be taken by consensus, it will be very difficult if some of the leaders are reluctant to support the agenda,” he said.

Indonesia has been providing scholarships for Papua New Guineans and Fijians to study abroad. Asked if such assistance could jeopardise Vanuatu’s push for West Papua, Minister Napat said: “Vanuatu is a sovereign country and it must decide on its own destiny and future.

“It is the same for PNG, it has its own sovereign right. Somewhere we (Vanuatu) have to find what is our interest, whether we continue pursuing the idea or we decide on a different path but continue advocate.

“You cannot be shouting from outside. You have to sit at the roundtable with them and talk so that they can hear you. It’s an interest for Vanuatu to pursue the matter, but when it comes to MSG its a collective decision.”

Source: Vanuatu Daily Post

MSG Foreign Ministers Convene to Shape Agenda for Leaders Summit

The foreign ministers of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) member countries are gathering today at the MSG Secretariat in Port Vila.

Their purpose is to approve the agenda for the upcoming MSG Leaders Summit, scheduled to take place next month in Port Vila.

This meeting follows yesterday’s senior officials’ meeting, setting the stage for important discussions.

According to reports from the MSG Secretariat, the foreign ministers’ meeting will address nine agenda items that were previously discussed and approved during the senior officials’ meeting. These topics will be submitted for final approval during today’s gathering, ultimately forming the official agenda for the MSG Leaders Summit.

The MSG consists of five member countries: Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) of New Caledonia.

Notably, there is an expectation that West Papua will be granted full membership during the upcoming MSG Leaders Summit, further expanding the group’s representation.

Currently, Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau serves as the chairman of the MSG, leading the discussions and facilitating collaboration among member countries.