August 21, 2023
Fellow Ministers, High Government Officials, Representatives from CROP Agencies, and Ocean Advocates………Alii and warm greetings to you all.
June 14, 2023
I am honoured to be part of this auspicious event to commemorate World Ocean Day here in Suva. I thank you sincerely for the invitation as I strongly believe that the Ocean is indeed a key part of Fiji, the Blue Pacific Region and its peoples.
March 24, 2023
Excellencies, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, Kia Orana and warm Pacific greetings. I am delighted to welcome you to this first session of a talanoa series, related to the important issue of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions…BBNJ.
As many of you are aware, over two weeks ago, we witnessed history in the finalization of the global agreement on BBNJ. In the words of the President of the Conference of the Parties, Rena Lee, “The ship has finally reached the shore, bringing with it a new chapter on the law of the sea”.
Friends, the journey has not been without its challenges, and I am told the final hurdle included a closing negotiation session, that ran for 36 hours straight, until the final brackets were taken out!
As many of you are aware, over two weeks ago, we witnessed history in the finalization of the global agreement on BBNJ. In the words of the President of the Conference of the Parties, Rena Lee, “The ship has finally reached the shore, bringing with it a new chapter on the law of the sea”.
Friends, the journey has not been without its challenges, and I am told the final hurdle included a closing negotiation session, that ran for 36 hours straight, until the final brackets were taken out!
December 16, 2022
This year, our Leaders endorsed the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, setting out our collective approach to achieving sustained security, development, and prosperity for all peoples in the Pacific[...]
December 15, 2022
From Pandora to the Pacific: Avatar: The Way of Water Screening Bula vinaka, Kia Orana and warm Pacific greetings. I’m delighted to join you […]
December 1, 2022
Remarks by H.E Henry Puna, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum & Pacific Ocean Commissioner Held in Singapore from 29 – 30 December 2022 Excellencies, […]
October 24, 2022
•Kia Orana and Bula Vinaka!
It gives me great pleasure to welcome Ambassador Peter Thomson to the Secretariat this afternoon, and for all of us to collectively learn from him today[...]
September 21, 2022
The world has yet to deliver an agreed Outcome to the 5th Intergovernmental Conference to draft a Maritime Biodiversity Treaty. This is particularly disappointing news given the urgency and hard work by all, for an end to these long-running negotiations.
As with all global island states of the world, our Blue Pacific has long lobbied for an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond [...]
June 9, 2022
PACIFIC OCEAN ALLIANCE MEETING. Opening Statement by Pacific Ocean Commissioner 7 June 2022, Distinguished Guests, Excellencies, Members of the Pacific Ocean Alliance, Ladies and gentlemen, Kia orana and Bula Vinaka to you all here in Suva, and joining us virtually from across the Pacific region. I am very pleased to welcome you all to this meeting of the Pacific Ocean Alliance (POA), my first, since being appointed Secretary General and Pacific Ocean Commissioner, last year. Much has evolved since the last meeting of the Pacific Ocean Alliance in 2019. We now find ourselves in a much more contested and challenge [..]