Convening of the 5th Pacific Islands Parliamentary Group Conference in Fiji (26 – 28 August 2025)

The President of the Republic of Fiji His Excellency Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu officially opened the 5th Pacific Islands Parliamentary Group Conference today in an Opening Ceremony, together with a traditional Fijian protocol ceremony. In the President of Fiji’s Keynote address, he urged Pacific Speakers of Parliament to prioritize regional issues and common challenges like climate change, and to strengthen regional solidarity for united action at the global level.

Lord Fakafanua (Lord Speaker) and Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni (People’s Representative for Tongatapu 3) are currently attending this Conference, at Natadola, Sigatoka, Fiji. It is a conference for Speakers of Parliament of PIPG Member countries, to discuss the theme of “Pacific Islands in a Changing Global Landscape: from Challenges to Parliamentary Action”. In attendance are parliaments from across all 3 Pacific regions – Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.

During the 3-day conference, the plenary will discuss key issues, amongst them current global changes and its impact on the region, parliamentary roles in steering sustainable development and regionalism. The highlight of these discussions will be examining an important proposal to institutionalize and consequently, to adopt a framework for it.

The Pacific Islands Parliamentary Group is the premier organization for legislative cooperation in the Pacific Islands. In February this year, the Lord Speaker had attended a meeting in Tahiti for the Working Group for PIPG of which Tonga is a member, together with Fiji, French Polynesia, Solomon Islands and Palau. The Working Group formulated key recommendations for a draft framework to institutionalize PIPG, which will be presented at this 5th PIPG Conference for formal approval. The outcome of this would be formally institutionalizing PIPG as a regional parliamentary institution.

Tonga’s delegation is accompanied by Dr. Sione Vikilani (Deputy Clerk) and Ms Sulia Makasini from the Committees/Library Division. The trip is jointly funded by the UNDP and Tonga’s Parliament. The 3-day conference will end on Thursday 28 August 2025.