by Richard Sanders, Staff Writer
The Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Prime Minister of Tonga, Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, is still awaiting approval from Paris for a Pacific mission to New Caledonia.
Recently, the French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, mentioned that President Emmanuel Macron has not yet signed a letter permitting a high-level PIF delegation to visit the French territory.
The PIF aims to dispatch a Forum Ministerial Committee consisting of leaders from the troika – Cook Islands, Fiji, and Tonga – along with Solomon Islands for this mission.
Hu’akavameiliku expressed to RNZ Pacific on Monday that there has been no communication from Paris regarding potential visit dates to New Caledonia. He emphasized the importance of the Pacific Islands Forum visiting New Caledonia prior to the leaders’ meeting.
Hu’akavameiliku highlighted that New Caledonia is a member of the forum, and therefore, the Pacific community is keen to offer assistance.
He mentioned, “So we can obtain accurate information and engage in discussions with the different parties.”
It has been nearly three months since peaceful protests against a contentious constitutional amendment escalated into widespread civil unrest in the French Pacific territory.
A formal request was sent to Macron a little over two weeks ago after discussions with his representative during Japan’s Pacific Leaders Meeting (PALM).
The forum chair sought approval for four Pacific prime ministers to visit New Caledonia before the final week of August 2024.
However, Roger-Lacan indicated that hosting Pacific leaders while New Caledonia is experiencing a crisis could pose security risks given the current political climate.
Forum secretary general Baron Waqa expressed in July that the PIF is deeply concerned about the situation unfolding in New Caledonia.
