- Minister for the Indo-Pacific, , to visit New
Zealand, the Cook Islands, Fiji and Tonga to build on
partnerships with Pacific Island Countries
- The Minister will participate in the 52nd Pacific Islands
Forum’s Dialogue Partners Day in Rarotonga boosting UK-Pacific
collaboration with support for the 2050 Strategy for a Blue
Pacific Continent
- Visit will be the first for FCDO Minister to Tonga since the
High Commission re-opened in 2020
The UK will strengthen partnerships with Pacific Islands Forum
members to tackle climate change, increase access to finance, and
navigate shared global challenges.
As Dialogue Partner to the Pacific Islands Forum, the UK is a
steadfast supporter of Pacific priorities. Minister Trevelyan
will underscore the UK’s support for the Pacific Islands Forum’s
2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continent and commitment to
deliver on regional priorities, like adapting to climate change,
strengthening cyber security, and boosting economic development.
She will participate in the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum in
Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, on 10 November, which enhances
cooperation between the countries and territories of
Oceania.
UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, said:
The UK is committed to strengthening our long-term partnership
with our friends in the Pacific, working alongside them to
deliver the 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continent.
We will continue our close collaboration with the Pacific Islands
Forum, listening to the voices and experiences of our partners in
the Pacific.
Together we will advocate for the issues that matter most,
ranging from our work to mitigate the impact of climate change to
support for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
agenda.”
While in New Zealand, the Minister will meet with Pasifika
experts and New Zealand businesses to understand their priorities
and challenges. The UK-New Zealand trading relationship was worth
£3 billion in 2022, with a free trade agreement signed in 2021.
The visit comes after New Zealand held general elections in
October 2023.
During the visit to Fiji, the Minister will meet local
communities and see the best of British-supported businesses
promoting innovation in Fiji’s agriculture industry like Tavioka
Organics.
In Tonga, the Minister will meet Foreign Minister, Hon.
Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu, and members of the Tongan Cabinet to
discuss shared challenges like climate change. At an engagement
with Chevening and Commonwealth scholars, she will celebrate the
people-to-people links between the UK and the Pacific Islands.
She will visit the launch of an upcoming project, ‘Climate and
Education Sector Initiative’, run by Save the Children Australia
and Tonga’s Ministry of Education and funded by Great Challenge
Fund and Global Fund for Education, a project to increase climate
resilience. As part of this visit she will witness inclusive
education for visually impaired students, and a rugby initiative
with equipment donated by ‘SOS Kit Aid’, which supports
schoolchildren including girls rugby in Tonga.
The UK will continue working closely with Pacific Island
countries as part of its long-term commitment to the region and
support for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
