Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
 | ||||
| Headquarters | Suva, Fiji | |||
| Membership | 16 member states 2 associate members 2 observers | |||
| Establishment | ||||
| - | as the South Pacific Forum | 1971 | ||
| - | as the PIF | 2000 | ||
The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization which aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean and represent their interests. Suva is the Capital and largest city of Fiji. It is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Central Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum; the name was changed in 2000 to better reflect the correct geographic locations of its member states both in the north and south Pacific. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions
The Forum's member states are: Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Cook Islands ( Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The Federated States of Micronesia is an Island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य Kiribati or ( kirr-i-bas or KEE-ree-buhss ˈkiɾibas in Gilbertese) officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an Island nation located in The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI is a Micronesian nation of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, is an Island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Niue (niːˈʔuːeɪ/ /ˈnjuːeɪ in English is an Island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. Palau, officially the Republic of Palau (Beluu er a Belau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands The Kingdom of Tonga is an Archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean comprising 169 islands 36 of them inhabited stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian Island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island Since 2006, associate members territories are New Caledonia and French Polynesia. For the former North American fur-trading district see New Caledonia (Canada, and for the Scottish colony in Panama see Darien scheme. French Polynesia ( French: Polynésie française, Tahitian: Pōrīnetia Farāni) is a French Overseas collectivity in the
The decisions of the Forum are implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), which grew out of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation (SPEC). As well as its role in harmonising regional positions on various political and policy issues, the Forum Secretariat has technical programmes in economic development, transport and trade, and chairs the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP). The Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP is an inter-organisational consultative process which aims to prevent either overlaps or gaps appearing between the work-programmes
New Zealand and Australia are much larger in population (with the exception of Papua New Guinea), and wealthier than the other small, poor, and in some cases outright impoverished island nations that make up the rest of the forum. Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania They are significant aid donors and big markets for exports (for instance, through a concessional tariff deal on textiles exports from Fiji to Australia). Australia's population is around twice that of the other 15 members combined and its economy more than five times larger. In Papua New Guinea (in Bougainville), Solomon Islands (2003-), Nauru (2004-) and Tonga (2006), New Zealand and Australian military and police forces have recently been part of a regional peacekeeping/stabilization operations. The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, also known as North Solomons, is an Autonomous region in Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Such regional efforts are mandated by the Biketawa Declaration, which was adopted at the 31st Summit of Pacific Islands Forum Leaders, held at Kiribati in October 2000. The Biketawa Declaration is a declaration agreed to by all the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum constituting a framework for coordinating response to regional crises October 2000: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August -
Contents |
History
From 5 to 7 August 1971, the first meeting of South Pacific Forum was initiated by New Zealand and held in Wellington, with attendants of seven countries including the President of Nauru, the Prime Ministers of Western Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, the Premier of the Cook Islands, the Australian Minister for External Territories, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Wellington (ˈwælɪŋtən is the Capital of New Zealand, the country's second largest urban area, the The president of Nauru is elected by Parliament from amongst its members It was a private and informal discussion of a wide range of issues of common concern, concentrating on matters directly affecting the daily lives of the people of the islands of the South Pacific, devoting particular attention to trade, shipping, tourism, and education. Afterwards this meeting was held annually in member countries and areas in turn. In 1999, the 30th South Pacific Forum decided to transform into Pacific Islands Forum, with relatively more extensive and formal way of discussion and organization. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Immediately after the forum’s annual meeting at head of government level, the Post Forum Dialogue (PFD) is conducted at ministerial level with PFD development partners around the world.
Main policies
The mission of Pacific Islands Forum is “to work in support of Forum member governments, to enhance the economic and social well-being of the people of the South Pacific by fostering cooperation between governments and between international agencies, and by representing the interests of Forum members in ways agreed by the Forum”.
Membership
| |||
| Member states | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Australia (AU) |  Kiribati (KI) |  Palau (PW) |  Solomon Islands (SB) |
 Cook Islands (CK) |  Nauru (NR) |  Papua New Guinea (PG) |  Tonga (TO) |
 Fed. Sts. of Micronesia (FM) |  New Zealand (NZ) |  Marshall Islands (MH) |  Tuvalu (TV) |
 Fiji (FJ) |  Niue (NU) |  Samoa (WS) |  Vanuatu (VU) |
| Associate members | Observers | ||
 New Caledonia (NC) |  French Polynesia (PF) | Tokelau (TK) |  Timor-Leste (TL) |
| For abbreviations, see ISO 3166-1. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Kiribati or ( kirr-i-bas or KEE-ree-buhss ˈkiɾibas in Gilbertese) officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an Island nation located in Palau, officially the Republic of Palau (Beluu er a Belau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands The Cook Islands ( Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, is an Island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. Papua New Guinea (or ˈpæpjuːə in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini) officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania The Kingdom of Tonga is an Archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean comprising 169 islands 36 of them inhabited stretching over a distance of about 800 kilometres (500 miles The Federated States of Micronesia is an Island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI is a Micronesian nation of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian Island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Fiji (Matanitu ko Viti फ़िजी officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands (Matanitu Tu-Vaka-i-koya ko Viti फ़िजी द्वीप समूह गणराज्य Niue (niːˈʔuːeɪ/ /ˈnjuːeɪ in English is an Island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island For the former North American fur-trading district see New Caledonia (Canada, and for the Scottish colony in Panama see Darien scheme. French Polynesia ( French: Polynésie française, Tahitian: Pōrīnetia Farāni) is a French Overseas collectivity in the Tokelau (ˈtoʊkəlaʊ is a territory of New Zealand that consists of three tropical coral Atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste (officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) is a country in Southeast Asia. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below --> ISO 3166-1, as part of the ISO 3166 standard | |||
The Forum is in dialogue with thirteen partners: Canada, China, European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Secretaries-General [1]
- Feleti Teo (Tuvalu) (acting). New SG to be decided by the Pacific Islands Forum in Niue in August 2008.
- Greg Urwin (Australia) 2004-May 2008 (resigned due to ill health)
- Noel Levi (Papua New Guinea) 1998-2004
- Ieremaia Tabai GCMG (Kiribati) 1992-1998
- Henry Naisali (Tuvalu) 1988-1992
Directors of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Cooperation
- Henry Naisali (Tuvalu) 1986-1988
- Mahe Tupouniua (Tonga) 1983-1986
- John Sheppard (Australia) (acting) 1982-Jan 1983
- Gabriel Gris (Papua New Guinea) 1980-1982 (died in office)
- Mahe Tupouniua (Tonga) Nov 1972-1980
Institutions and legal framework
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat was established initially as a ‘Trade Bureau’ in 1972 and later became the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation (SPEC). Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The name South Pacific Forum Secretariat was approved by member governments in 1988 and changed to Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in 2000. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
There are four divisions in the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and each of these divisions has direct responsibility for a range of programs designed to improve the capacity of the Forum member countries and to co-ordinate action on matters of common interest:
- Development and Economic Policy
- Trade and Investment
- Political, International and Legal Affairs
- Corporate Services
Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement
The aim of Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) is to boost trade between the island nations of the Pacific. The Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA aims to establish a free-trade area between fourteen of the Pacific Islands Forum countries
The Melanesian Spearhead Group Preferential Trade Agreement is a similar cooperation attempt by a subset of the PICTA members. The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG Preferential Trade Agreement is a Trade treaty governing the four Melanesian states of Vanuatu, Papua
Recent works
An "open skies" policy has been under work by a number of nations. The Pacific Islands Air Services Agreement or PIASA would allow member nations to have more access for their airlines to other member countries. To date there have been 10 signatories Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu while only 6 have ratified the agreement. These six are Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Common currency
There have been calls to create a common currency in the Pacific. The Australian government contends that the Australian dollar should be used by the island nations but many people worry that this would lead to a new age of colonialism. The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Some feel that the common currency should be different from that of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Some countries in the Pacific already use the currency of one of the nations listed above. Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands are currently using the United States Dollar. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Nauru, Kiribati, and Tuvalu are using the Australian Dollar. Tokelau, Cook Islands, Niue, and the Pitcairn Islands use the New Zealand Dollar. The New Zealand dollar ( sign: $; code: NZD) is the Currency of New Zealand. There is also a strong European influence in the Pacific. The French territories of New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, and French Polynesia have been using the CFP Franc. The CFP franc (called the franc in everyday use is the Currency used in the French overseas possessions of French Polynesia, New Caledonia
Future prospects
There has been a call from within both the Australian and New Zealand business communities to extend the CER (Closer Economic Relations) to other Pacific Island nations, moving towards a single market and allowing the free movement of people and goods. Closer Economic Relations ( CER) is a Free trade agreement between the governments of New Zealand and Australia. See Pacific Union. The Pacific Union is a proposed political and economic intergovernmental community suggested in 2003 by a Committee of the Australian Senate.
Comparison with other regional blocs
| Regional bloc1 | Area | Population | GDP ($US) | Member states1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| km² | sq mi | in millions (PPP) | in millions (nominal) | per capita (PPP) | per capita (nominal) | |||
| AU | 29,797,500 | 11,504,879 | 897,548,804 | 1,515,000 | 1,131,850 | 1,896 | 1,261 | 53 |
| ASEAN (2007 est. A trade bloc is a large Free trade area formed by one or more Tax tariff and trade agreements Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other working languages is a Confederation consisting of 53 African The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly referred to as ASEAN, ˈɑːsiːɑːn AH-see-ahn in English (the Official language ) | 4,497,493 | 1,736,000 | 566,500,000 | 3,115,480 | 1,173,000 | 5,541 | 2,041 | 10 |
| CACM | 422,614 | 163,172 | 37,816,598 | 159,536 | 84,792 | 4,219 | 2,242 | 5 |
| CARICOM | 462,344 | 178,512 | 14,565,083 | 64,219 | 24,020 | 4,409 | 1,649 | (14+1)3 |
| CCASG / GCC | 2,285,844 | 882,569 | 35,869,438 | 536,223 | 717,800 | 14,949 | 20,011 | 6 |
| CEFTA | 298,148 | 115,116 | 28,929,682 | 222,041 | 122,001 | 7,675 | 4,217 | (7+1)3 |
| EU (2007 est. The Central American Common Market ( CACM; Spanish: Mercado Común Centroamericano, MCCA was an economic trade organisation between five nations of The Caribbean Community ( CARICOM) is an organization of Caribbean nations and dependencies The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( CCASG; مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council Members As of 1 May 2007, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in ) | 4,324,782 | 1,669,808 | 497,000,000 | 14,953,000 | 16,574,000 | 28,213 | 33,482 | 27 |
| EurAsEC | 20,789,100 | 8,026,720 | 208,067,618 | 1,689,137 | 1,125,528 | 8,118 | 5,409 | 6 |
| EFTA (2007 est. The Eurasian Economic Community ( EurAsEC or EAEC or EEC) was put into motion on 10 October 2000 when Belarus, The European Free Trade Association ( EFTA) is a European Trade bloc which was established on 3 May 1960 as an alternative for European states who were either ) | 529,600 | 204,480 | 12,660,623 | 567,500 | 743,300 | 44,828 | 60,000 | 4 |
| GAFTA | 9,421,946 | 3,637,834 | 280,727,416 | 1,341,298 | N/A | 4,778 | N/A | (16+1)3 |
| GUAM | 810,506 | 312,938 | 63,764,600 | 456,173 | 106,469 | 7,154 | 1,670 | 4 |
| NAFTA (2007 est. GUAM redirects here See Guam for the Pacific island territory ) | 21,783,850 | 8,410,792 | 445,000,000 | 15,857,000 | 15,723,000 | 35,491 | 35,564 | 3 |
| PARTA | 528,151 | 203,920 | 7,810,905 | 23,074 | N/A | 2,954 | N/A | (12+2)3 |
| SAARC | 5,136,740 | 1,983,306 | 1,467,255,669 | 4,074,031 | N/A | 2,777 | N/A | 8 |
| Unasur / Unasul | 17,339,153 | 6,694,684 | 370,158,470 | 2,868,430 | N/A | 7,749 | N/A | 12 |
| UN and countries for reference2 | Area | Population | GDP ($US) | Units4 | ||||
| km² | sq mi | in millions (PPP) | in millions (nominal) | per capita (PPP) | per capita (nominal) | |||
| UN | 133,178,011 | 51,420,318 | 6,411,682,270 | 55,167,630 | 48,245,198 | 8,604 | 7,524 | 192 |
| Brazil (2007 est. The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental Organization which aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC) is an economic and political organization of eight countries in Southern Asia. __FORCETOC__The Union of South American Nations (Unión de Naciones Suramericanas - UNASUR, União de Nações Sul-Americanas - UNASUL, Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld ) | 8,514,877 | 3,287,612 | 183,888,841 | 1,804,000 | 1,067,706 | 10,073 | 6,842 | 27 |
| Canada (2007 est. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page ) | 9,984,670 | 3,855,103 | 33,000,000 | 1,274,000 | 1,406,000 | 38,200 | 42,738 | 13 |
| India (2007 est. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ) | 3,287,590 | 1,269,346 | 1,120,000,000 | 4,726,000 | 1,089,000 | 4,182 | 1,004 | 35 |
| Japan (2007 est. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. ) | 377,873 | 145,898 | 127,433,494 | 4,346,000 | 4,346,000 | 33,800 | 38,341 | 47 |
| PR China5 (2007 est. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ) | 9,596,960 | 3,705,407 | 1,321,851,888 | 7,043,000 | 3,420,000 | 5,300 | 2,800 | 33 |
| Russia (2007 est. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending ) | 17,075,200 | 6,592,772 | 142,500,000 | 2,076,000 | 1,286,000 | 14,600 | 9,056 | 83 |
| USA (2007 est. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ) | 9,826,630 | 3,794,083 | 302,000,000 | 13,543,000 | 13,794,700 | 43,500 | 45,594 | 50 |
smallest value among the blocs compared largest value among the blocs compared Footnotes | ||||||||
See also
External links
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