Smaller Island States Leaders Set Priorities Ahead of Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting - Island Times

Excerpt from islandtimes.org

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Sept. 8, 2025) — “The unity and clarity of purpose that we show here will set the tone for the rest of our deliberations in Honiara,” Kiribati President Taneti Maamau said Monday as he opened the Small Island States (SIS) Leaders Meeting, the first gathering leading into the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting later this week.

Leaders of the SIS grouping — representing some of the Pacific’s most vulnerable nations — are meeting in Honiara to address pressing priorities that include securing reliable air and sea transport, advancing fisheries development, strengthening health systems, and improving access to climate finance.

The SIS group is made up of Kiribati, Palau, Tuvalu, Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Niue. Together, they represent some of the smallest populations in the Pacific Islands Forum but face some of the region’s most severe challenges, from climate change impacts to economic viability and connectivity barriers.