It hasn’t been an easy role for Meg Tayloe since taking her seat as Forum Genral Secretary. She tells Nic Maclellan of Islands Business about the meerting outcomes and her expectations for the region. Excerpts from her interview.
IB: On her reappointment for a second term as Secretary General:
Taylor: The Secretary General is asked ahead of time whether he or she is willing to continue. I gave it a lot of thought. I also had discussions before the elections with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, because it was he who had asked me to come and serve in the first place. There is work that I’ve started with my colleagues that needs to be taken to a more developed level. We are trying to strengthen the work of the Forum Secretariat. There are a lot of reforms we are trying to get through the Secretariat itself and also the regional agenda we started, particularly the Framework for Pacific Regionalism and its public consultation process.
IB: On reforming the Forum Secretariat:
Taylor: We’ve completed a strategic framework for the Secretariat and are very conscious that our first priority has to be people-centred development. We need to ensure that there is not just physical security, but also food security and environmental security for people in our region.
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