Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS)

The Pacific Islands Forum is a political grouping of 16 independent and self-governing states.

Members include Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

New Caledonia and French Polynesia, previously Forum Observers, were granted Associate Membership in 2006. Tokelau, previously Forum Observers (2005), was also granted Associate Member in 2014. Wallis and Futuna (2006), the Commonwealth (2006), the United Nations (2006) the Asian Development Bank (2006), Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (2007), the World Bank (2010), the ACP Group (2011), American Samoa (2011), Guam (2011) and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (2011), Timor Leste (2002) with International Organization for Migration (2014) as Special Observer.

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is based in Suva, Fiji. The Secretariat’s mandate is delivered through the annual Leaders’ Communiqués and high level ministerial meeting decisions. The Forum Secretariat is led by the Secretary General (currently Tuiloma Neroni Slade of Samoa) who is directly responsible to the Forum Leaders and to the Forum Officials’ Committee (FOC). FOC is the Secretariat’s governing body comprising representatives from all Forum members. The Forum Secretariat is also mandated to coordinate the implementation of the Pacific Plan for strengthening regional cooperation and integration. The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is an international organisation established by treaty, enjoying legal personality in each of its sixteen member countries.

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat aims to stimulate economic growth and enhance political governance and security for the region, through the provision of policy advice; and to strengthen regional cooperation and integration through coordinating, monitoring and evaluating implementation of Leaders’ decisions.

In achieving these Goals, the primary role of the Forum Secretariat, as set out in the 2005 Agreement Establishing the Pacific Islands Forum, are to provide:

• Policy advice and guidance in implementing the decisions of the Leaders
• Coordination and assistance in implementing the decisions of the Leaders
• Support to the Leaders' meetings, ministerial meetings, and associated committees and working groups 

Programme

Economic Governance – The Economic Governance Programme extends and coordinates policy advice and technical assistance of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. In response to limited national capacities and an increasingly complex international environment, the focus of the Programme is to increase understanding of the challenges facing the region and use its expertise to assist Members in the development of appropriate national, sub-regional and regional interventions. In addition, the Programme partners with other development agencies to facilitate assistance on economic and trade measures to Members where no internal capacity exists within the Programme.

Political Governance and Security - The Political Governance & Security Programmes supports members achieve improved regional security and political integrity through the provision of high quality advice, coordination and implementation assistance. The Programme’s overriding objective is to give effect to the desire of our Leaders and members for a secure and well-governed region through the provision of high quality policy advice, coordination and implementation assistance:

• In support of members’ security and governance priorities;
• To strengthen regional cooperation and integration in regional legal frameworks and institutions of governance.

Strategic Partnership and Coordination - The programme provides advice and coordination to support member countries better engage with current and emerging partners. In doing so, it works to:

• facilitate dialogue;
• represent and advocate the Forum position on various issues at both regional and international levels;
• and provide strategic advice to Forum members to better understand, access and utilize available and future resources to support the building of national and regional capacity to meet the challenges the Pacific faces.