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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Secretary-General to consult with Pacific leaders after bilateral visits to Kiribati and Nauru

12 August 2003

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon will attend the 34th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Auckland, New Zealand from 14-16 August 2003 as a Special Guest.

At the Pacific Forum meeting, Mr McKinnon will be consulting with Pacific leaders on Commonwealth issues, with a focus on political, security and economic challenges facing the member states of the region, including the current situation in the Solomon Islands. He will also brief leaders on the preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria, on 5-8 December 2003.

On 11 August, Mr McKinnon visited Kiribati for the first time as Commonwealth Secretary-General. He met with the recently elected President, H E Mr Anote Tong and his Cabinet. They discussed regional issues, including matters on the agenda for the forthcoming Forum.

On his way to Kiribati he also visited Nauru, where he was met by the newly appointed Finance Minister and exchanged views about the economic situation in the country. He also discussed issues relating to the sustainability of small economies and the preparations for the Barbados + 10 meeting on small island states.

On 15 August, Mr McKinnon will address a Pacific civil society meeting in Auckland on "Governance and Civil Society: A Commonwealth Perspective".

Note to Editors:
The sovereign Commonwealth members of the Pacific Islands Forum are Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing Territories in free association with New Zealand, also have a close relationship with the Commonwealth.

The Barbados+10 is an international meeting to be held in Mauritius in August 2004 to review the Barbados programme of action on sustainable development of small island states, a programme agreed in 1994 at the United Nations Meeting on Sustainable Development for Small Island States.

For further information on the Secretary-General's visit to the Pacific please contact Jo Coughlan on 00 64 21 522 142 from 12-16 August.

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