- Minister for the Indo-Pacific will visit Vanuatu
and Australia this week.
- She will attend the Conference of the Pacific Community to
boost diplomatic links with the region.
- Minister will then travel to Australia for talks on trade and
security.
Underlining the UK’s commitment to deepening ties with the
Pacific Islands, Minister for the Indo-Pacific will today (23
November) arrive in Vanuatu for her first overseas trip,
following her appointment as an FCDO Minister last month.
Minister Trevelyan will hold talks with Vanuatu’s Prime Minister
Ishmael Kalsakau and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jotham Napat
about the priorities of their recently-elected government. As a
Commonwealth partner on the front line of climate change, the UK
works closely with Vanuatu to strengthen maritime security,
climate resilience as well as capacity building in the region.
The Minister will then attend the 12th Conference of the Pacific
Communityto build closer diplomatic ties with leaders from
across the region. Representatives of the 26 countries and
territories that constitute the bloc will attend for talks on
climate change, development, science and innovation. The region
remains critical to delivering on key UK priorities, including
securing an open and stable Indo-Pacific, tackling climate change
and biodiversity loss.
Many Pacific Islands have small populations and face geographic
isolation and vulnerability to natural disasters. Rising sea
levels could see some countries uninhabitable within four
decades. The UK is working with these small island developing
states to build a cleaner, safer and more resilient future,
including through the Blue Planet Fund,
which will support economic development while protecting nature
and increasing climate resilience.
Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific, , said:
On my first trip as Minister for the Indo-Pacific, I want to
underline the UK’s steadfast commitment to the region and how we
can work together to bolster global prosperity and security.
The UK will deepen our engagement in the Pacific, a region where
we have a close history, many friends, and share the values of
sovereignty, territorial integrity and free trade.
Vanuatu is on the front line of the climate emergency, and we are
working with them alongside other partners to accelerate global
action on tackling climate change.
During the conference, Minister Trevelyan will hold talks with
her counterparts from across the Pacific and support their work
addressing climate change, security and prosperity.
The UK is working with the region to deliver its 2050 Strategy
for the Blue Pacific Continent, which sets out Pacific countries’
vision for a cleaner, safer and more resilient future.
While in Vanuatu’s capital, the Minister will co-host a dinner
with the New Zealand High Commissioner to celebrate women in
leadership across the Pacific, alongside Vanuatu’s Deputy Speaker
Gloria .
She will also join young volunteers with community group and
non-profit organisation Wan Smolbag to hear how they are affected
by and adapting to climate change. The group operates across the
South Pacific, running programmes to boost youth engagement on
education, health and the environment.
Following her visit to Vanuatu, the Minister will travel to
Australia, arriving on 25 November. She will attend talks with
her Foreign and Defence Ministry counterparts to discuss
UK-Australia security and defence cooperation, including the
AUKUS agreement.
Further information
The Pacific Community (formerly the south Pacific Community and
still referred to as SPC) is the principal scientific and
technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting
development since 1947. It works in over 20 sectors including
climate change, disaster risk management and human rights.
The conference will be the first in-person meeting since UK
re-joined as a metropolitan member in 2021. Current UK support to
SPC is delivered through the CSSF-funded Extended
Continental Shelf Programme.
Members of the Pacific Community are: American Samoa, Australia,
Cook Islands, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati,
Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand,
Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn
Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United
Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna.
