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Australia is a stable, democratic and culturally diverse nation with a highly skilled workforce and one of the strongest performing economies in the world.

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This is the 52nd edition of Australia in Brief, revised and updated in February 2021

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Pacific Islands regional organisation

Pacific Islands Forum Ministers Meetings


A large group of men and women seated in matching shirts and leis, Sail boats are visible in the bay in the background.

Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting, 26-30 August 2024, Vava’u, Tonga. Credit: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

In addition to the annual Leaders' Retreat, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) convenes a range of other high-level ministerial meetings. There are standing annual meetings of Forum Foreign Ministers and Forum Economic Ministers Meetings. An annual meeting of Pacific Women Leaders commenced in 2022. Forum Trade Ministers meet every two years.

Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting

At the 46th PIF Leaders Meeting in September 2015, Leaders agreed that Forum Foreign Ministers meet annually to assist and inform Leaders of relevant regional and international issues facing the region. The Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting (FFMM) provides a platform in the Forum's architecture for discussion on regional and international issues facing the Pacific.

Forum Economic Ministers Meeting

The Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) addresses the key economic and socio-economic issues facing the Pacific, and the development and endorsement of regional responses to support and complement each country's domestic policies. In recent years the FEMM has discussed climate change financing, remittances, tourism, labour mobility and recovering from the economic and socio-economic impact of COVID-19.

Forum Women Leaders Meeting

At their Special Retreat in 2021, Leaders endorsed the PIF Women Leaders Meeting (PIFWLM) as a standing meeting ahead of the Leaders meeting. The PIFWLM has been held annually since 2022.

At the second PIFWLM meeting in Suva, Fiji in September 2023, Members agreed a revitalised Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration (PLGED) which was developed by the PIF Secretariat following an independent review and consultations in eighteen Member countries. The PLGED confirmed PIFWLM as the governance and oversight mechanism for gender equality actions in the region. The PLGED was subsequently endorsed by PIF Leaders in November 2023. Decisions at the second PIFWLM were also instrumental in ensuring gender equality, disability and social inclusion priorities were fully articulated and mainstreamed in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its Implementation Plan across all the seven thematic areas.

The third PIFWLM was convened in Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands in July 2024, immediately after the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women and 8th Meeting of Pacific Ministers for Women, which were convened by the Pacific Community (SPC). Members considered a range of issues, including key actions required to ensure the mainstreaming of gender equality and social inclusion commitments and actions in the 2050 Strategy and its Implementation Plan.

Forum Trade Ministers Meeting

The Forum Trade Ministers Meeting (FTMM) is held every two years, most recently on 6 October 2023 in Suva, Fiji. This meeting was chaired by the Cook Islands. Ministers discussed a range of issues, including the current Regional Trade and Investment Landscape, the implementation of the 2050 Strategy, the Pacific Aid for Trade Strategy, private sector development priorities, and labour mobility. At this meeting, there was also recognition of the need for alignment across regional frameworks to increase efficiency and enhance development returns for member countries.

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