Pacific Islands Forum leaders has appointed Cook Is. former Prime Minister, Henry Puna, to be the new Secretary General of the Secretariat.
His appointment as incoming General Secretary was made in a Special Leaders Retreat held online yesterday.
Current General Secretary, Dame Meg Taylor, was commended for “…her stellar leadership and guidance to the Pacific Islands Forum on regional issues over the past 6 years and wished her well in her future endeavours.’
Henry Puna stepped down as Cook Is. Prime Minister last year in September after close to a decade in office.
Samoa’s Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, joined the Forum Retreat from Apia. He left Parliament session before it ended yesterday to link up with other Forum leaders. A Secretariat statement said the leaders retreat agenda also included the COVID-19 pandemic and the distribution of vaccines to the region.
Leaders acknowledged the region’s efforts to date to manage the spread of the COIVD-19 pandemic in the Pacific region, including through the establishment and operationalisation of the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway on COVID-19.
Leaders also welcomed the significant support from Australia and New Zealand to secure vaccines for all Pacific people and the multilateral and bilateral partnerships working to ensure one hundred percent coverage.
“Leaders discussed the complexities facing the Pacific region at this time in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and including the ongoing threat of climate change and the increasing geostrategic competition in the region,” said Forum Chair and Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Hon. Kausea Natano. Puna assumes the position of Secretary General at a critical time in the region’s history and will need to guide the region through the COVID-19 recovery.