Micronesian leaders have received an apology from their colleagues in the Pacific Islands Forum.
In what has been described as a frank and open political dialogue on Monday the Forum leaders aimed to heal the wounds caused by the selection of the Cook Islands Henry Puna as the new secretary general of the agency.
Micronesia s leaders believed they had a commitment that their candidate, Gerald Zackios from the Marshall Islands, would be named secretary general. In February, the five Micronesian members of the Forum announced they would leave in protest at the selection.
But in a virtual meeting, dubbed the Troika Plus dialogue, on Monday, the Micronesian leaders heard apologies from Papua New Guinea s James Marape, Fiji s Frank Bainimarama, Samoa s Tuila epa Sa ilele Mailielegaoi and the outgoing secretary general Dame Meg Taylor.
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Photo: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
The decision was taken during Friday s virtual leaders summit to mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
The leaders have endorsed the development of a 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent ahead of next year s COP26 in the UK.
The leaders also renewed their commitment to progress the implementation of the Paris Accord.
The forum acknowledged the need for urgent and immediate actions against the threats and challenges of climate change.
Forum chair and Tuvalu Prime Minister, Kausea Natano, called for immediate action and not just discussion of ambition . Five years on, we must now ask ourselves, are we making the necessary policy and behavioural change to keep us on the 1.5-degree pathway from the perspective of the Blue Pacific?