Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Hon Aupito William Sio to attend PIF Secretariat Foreign Ministers’ meeting

Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Hon Aupito William Sio, attends the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (PIFS) in Suva, this week. His attendance is on behalf of Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Hon Nanaia Mahuta, who has contracted Covid and is unable to travel at the current time.  

The PIFS Foreign Ministers Meeting is the forerunner to the ‘Pacific Leaders Forum’ considered to be the premier institutional entity for discussing issues of priority that impact the Pacific region. The Forum, is held in Suva from July 11-14, will bring together leaders and representatives from eighteen Pacific nations including New Zealand and Australia. The Forum is of strategic importance to New Zealand and is viewed as ‘the heart of our engagement’ with the region. 

Regional security, economic challenges and the effects of climate change, are significant issues of concern that have been echoed by Pacific leaders across the region. Associate Minister Aupito said “the Pacific Foreign Minister’s meeting will provide an opportunity to bring all Ministers together from across the region. It is essential to have a ‘talanoa’ on the issues that are of importance for the Blue Pacific Continent.” 

The Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was last held in 2019, as the Covid-19 global pandemic has led to significant disruption across the Pacific region.