Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama is mourning the passing away of Tongan Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva who he says inspired the world with raw emotion at last month's Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu.
Bainimarama says despite his health, Pohiva attended the Pacific Islands Forum in recognition of the urgency of climate action.
Bainimarama says people must honour his legacy by continuing this fight.
I mourn the passing of Tongan PM ʻAkilisi Pōhiva, who inspired the world with raw emotion at last month's Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu (which, despite his health, he attended in recognition of the urgency of climate action). We must honour his legacy by continuing this fight. pic.twitter.com/MRHysVAaDU
— Frank Bainimarama (@FijiPM) September 12, 2019
The Tongan Prime Minister died after he had been taken to Auckland yesterday, suffering from pneumonia.
Radio New Zealand reports Pohiva, who was in Auckland for treatment for a liver condition earlier this year, became unwell after returning from the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Tuvalu several weeks ago.
He had been in hospital in Nuku'alofa for the past two weeks but doctors decided he needed medical evacuation to Auckland.
