REMARKS BY THE PACIFIC OCEAN COMMISSIONER
EU-Pacific Policy Dialogue on Oceans
6th August 2025
Your Excellency, Ambassador of the EU delegation to the Pacific,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Alii and Good Morning.
Firstly, it’s good to see all the familiar ocean faces in one room. It’s my great pleasure to deliver some remarks at this Dialogue.
As we gather here today, Im glad that through collaboration with the EU, we the Pacific, are able to put into practice some of the shared development goals and international commitments. Commitments such as sustainable ocean governance, fisheries and marine resource management as implemented through the Pacific-EU Marine Partnership Programme or (PEUMP).
Ilet me also take this time to acknowledge the continued commitment and investment of the EU. This platform has been an excellent space for mutual learning and positive engagement between the EU representatives and Pacific stakeholders. A space to enable strategic alignment and cooperation on future joint actions in the blue economy, marine protection and innovation. Clearly and at this juncture, we all recognise northern star commitment of our region through the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. In the previous months, the CROP collaboration under the 2050 Strategy thematic areas will be progressed through the Technical Advisory Groups (TAG). In my role as the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, I am the Chair of the Ocean and Environment TAG and supported by SPREP and SPC. I hope to also acknowledge in this work, efforts by partners such as the EU, who are making an impact in the Pacific.
Similarly, I also take this time to acknowledge our regional leads that are implementing this important work. To our teams in SPC, SPREP, FFA, USP etc. We thank you for the great work in taking this collaboration forward.
I encourage us to treat this meeting as a dialogue where you are able to think aloud, be innovative and provide the technical and scientific aspects that often don’t see the limelight.
The objectives of this dialogue are clear. I hope we will be able to achieve this. I request also special focus on a few things this week:
a. To showcase and reflect on key achievements and lessons learned from the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme, particularly in the areas of market access, integrated ecosystem management, and ocean research and science;
b. To promote informed dialogue on sector-specific advancements and challenges, including market access for fish and fisheries products, by-catch mitigation and ecosystem-based management, and science-policy linkages in ocean governance; and
c. To validate and consolidate forward-looking recommendations, aligned with national and regional ocean priorities and the outcomes of global processes such as the UN Ocean Conference, the UN Decade of Ocean Science, BBNJ and Plastics.
These are some of the key issues we as a region must prioritise, and I’m sure with the rich expertise available in the room and also online this week, we will be able to derive some solutions moving forward.
Colleagues, once again, a very warm welcome to you all and I look forward to the discussions and also having an opportunity to speak with you all during the course of the week.
Sulang and thank you very much.
