The Cook Islands will participate in the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (PIFLM54) in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 7–12 September. The meeting theme, “Iumi Tugeda: Act Now for an Integrated Blue Pacific Continent,” speaks to the region’s shared identity and collective responsibility to move from strategy to action.
Prime Minister Hon. Mark Brown will lead the Cook Islands delegation, accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Hon. Tingika Elikana, Spouse Mrs Daphne Brown, and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance and Economic Management.
The official programme begins with a church service on Sunday 7 September, followed by Smaller Island States and Pacific ACP Leaders’ Meetings and the Opening Ceremony on Monday. Key sessions include Leaders dialogues with stakeholders on Tuesday, the formal Plenary on Wednesday with endorsement of the Pacific Resilience Facility Treaty and the Ocean of Peace Declaration, and the Leaders Retreat in Munda on Thursday and Friday.
Prime Minister Brown said, “We go to Honiara to speak with clarity, to listen with respect, and to act with purpose for a stronger, united Blue Pacific. We will work with every partner who respects a Pacific-led agenda, because an integrated Blue Pacific continent is strengthened through collective solidarity and action by the Pacific, for the Pacific.”
Reflecting on this year’s 60th anniversary of self-governance, the Prime Minister noted, “As we mark 60 years of charting our own course, we carry the confidence of our ancestors and the hopes of our tamariki. Kua kite au i toku turanga, e Avaiki toku. Our voice in Honiara will be grounded, constructive, and focused on results that improve everyday life at home and lift outcomes for our region.”
On the choice of Pacific Leaders to defer Forum Dialogue Partner engagement to 2026, Prime Minister Brown said, “Within the context of an evolving geopolitical landscape, it is more critical now than ever to ensure that our regional architecture is fit for purpose and driven by Member priorities. By completing the work directed by Leaders in 2019 to assess whether current regional governance arrangements effectively support collective priorities, we will strengthen how we engage with all partners and safeguard the integrity of our preeminent political body.”
The Honiara meeting will also mark the conclusion of the Cook Islands’ role on the PIF Troika, which began in 2022. Prime Minister Brown said the Cook Islands is proud to have continued its legacy of contributing to regional governance and looks forward to supporting the incoming Troika led by the Solomon Islands.
The Cook Islands contributions for PIFLM54 will focus on practical resilience financing, sustainable ocean stewardship, climate action, and regional stability.
“We support principles that keep our ocean a place of peace, uphold sovereignty, and enable our people to thrive. The test for all of us is simple: can our decisions translate into safer communities, better services, and real climate resilience across our islands? That is the outcome Cook Islanders expect, and that is what I will champion in Honiara,” the Prime Minister said.
