THE Forum Economic Ministers Meeting has wrapped up in Majuro, with a key takeaway that the region’s pattern of reacting to crises rather than preparing for them must end.
This, as the ongoing energy crisis continues to devastate household budgets across the Pacific.
Hosted by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, economic and finance ministers came to discuss the theme “Economic and Financial Inclusion in the Pacific.” Ministers grappled with the escalating impacts of geopolitical tensions, energy market disruptions, inflationary pressures, and climate-induced shocks
“Against the backdrop of increasing global uncertainty, ministers reaffirmed the importance of collective action, deeper regional cooperation, and practical partnership,” said Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa.
The energy crisis overshadowed proceedings as the dominant concern, with ministers acknowledging that the current crisis mirrors previous shocks in 2008 and during COVID-19 – but with potentially more severe consequences.
“I think this time around, all the ministers realized that the next crisis is going to be twice or three times more severe than this one,” said Marshall Islands Finance Minister David Paul, who chaired the meeting.
“There’s a resolve among the members to really get to the bottom of it, come up with a concrete way forward to be able to make sure that the next time comes around, we’re ready for it.”
Forum members have already invoked the Biketawa Declaration as the framework for addressing the challenge, but moves like regional bulk fuel purchases remain a complex issue due to individual countries’ own existing agreements.
Paul shared some of the measures the Marshall Islands had implemented. including tax exemptions, minimum wage increases, and a universal basic income scheme – measures he acknowledged were “only a band-aid solution” to a deeper structural problem of fossil fuel dependence.
“We have to come up with something that is going to move us away from continuing to depend on that fossil fuel,” he said.
The meeting preceded the inaugural Council of the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), a Pacific-owned financing mechanism designed to provide accessible climate and disaster resilience funding to grassroot communities
“This meeting in Majuro is a very, very critical and important meeting,” Waqa said.
“This is where we stand up and operationalise the PRF.”
