SUVA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Fiji has accepted the chairmanship role of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) following the conclusion of the leaders' summit in Nadi, Fiji on Tuesday.
Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said Fiji will continue to build a legacy for the PIDF that is worthy of its founding ambitions and will carry Pacific interests and perspectives to the highest regional and international stages, according to a Fijian government statement on Tuesday.
He said a renewed focus will be placed on making the PIDF a relevant force in the lives of every citizen it is intended to represent.
Meanwhile, member countries of the PIDF have also appointed Fiji's Ambassador to the United States Solo Mara to be the next secretary general of the PIDF. Mara will take over the reins in October from Francois Martel whose four-year term ends this year.
Bainimarama said the region remains on the frontlines of humanity's greatest challenges and besieged by the threat of climate change.
He said the PIDF must step in to fill issues such as the empowerment of women, young people and those living with disabilities; the management of waterways; building up the regional tourism market; and combatting flows of drugs and illicit materials through Pacific waters.
"At the moment, I'm concerned that Pacific Island countries are suffering from an insistence on implementing one-size-fits-all development approaches. We're not doing a good enough of job of listening and learning from each other's experiences," said the prime minister.
"And we're certainly not doing a good job at actually putting forward innovative solutions ourselves," Bainimarama said.
Bainimarama said putting more new ideas on the table means transforming the PIDF into a more intellectual community and space that attracts the best and brightest Pacific minds to think at a high-level about how innovative solutions can be practically implemented across the region.
"The PIDF must emerge as a thought-leader in Pacific development. It should be the go-to resource for any development organization seeking a wealth of real experiences and well-considered ideas tailored to Pacific development aspirations," said Bainimarama.
Bainimarama told the PIDF that in the run-up to the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu in two weeks' time, members should not accept anything less than concrete commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions in line with the most ambitious aspirations of the Paris Agreement.
