Strategy within the strategy must be about ensuring no external entity has strategic control over any of us - Bainimarama

It is my personal belief as a proud Pacific Islander that we are at our most resilient as a family, we speak more powerfully as a family and we can only build our best possible future, together, as a family.

While speaking at the tradition welcoming ceremony of the members of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders, Fijian Prime Minister and Chair Voreqe Bainimarama says their collective prosperity must fundamentally drive the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

He says they must be able to effectively address their core vulnerabilities over the long term.

Bainimarama says economic, trade, and resource management considerations, and the key enablers that support these areas such as the rule of law, environmental protection, regional security and transport must underpin their co-operation through this strategy.

He says a key focus of the Forum Leaders Retreat later this week will be the issue of regional solidarity and how best they, as a Forum Family, can bolster and galvanize their unity.

The Forum chair says they simply cannot make the same difference for the health, security, and prosperity of the people, without every Pacific voice helping to chart the course of the region’s direction.