FOR Pacific Island countries, energy and transport are no longer just infrastructure issues – they are survival issues.
From rising fuel prices and fragile shipping routes to the urgent transition to clean energy and growing maritime security threats, the stakes are high as Pacific leaders gather for the Sixth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers’ Meeting (6PRETMM) here this week.
At the centre of the discussions is one pressing question: how does the Pacific secure its energy and transport future in an increasingly unstable world?
For Vanuatu, that future means accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels.
Vanuatu’s Deputy Commissioner for International and Legal Affairs, Lloyd Fikiasi, says the country remains committed to the Port Vila Call, a Pacific-led push for a just transition toward renewable energy.
“In Vanuatu, the current situation for us in terms of Energy is the transition from fossil fuel to clean energy, which is one of the main peak agenda, how Vanuatu can use more renewable energy and also remove the dependance of fossil fuel, Vanuatu is taking the leading role in terms of the Port Villa call is one of our agenda.”
His comments come at a time when global instability continues to expose the Pacific’s vulnerability.
Conflict in the Middle East, particularly tensions involving the United States and Iran, has once again raised concerns over fuel supply chains and price volatility, a reminder that geopolitical crises thousands of kilometers away can hit Pacific households directly through higher electricity, transport and food costs.
For small island states like Vanuatu, energy security is inseparable from economic security.
“It is one of the new challenges, the fuel crisis for us in the Pacific, and I believe for the Energy officials it’s on the agenda, how the Pacific is looking into the future and the themes of security and fuel, while breaking down other issues including balancing the reliance on fuel and security,” he said.
But energy is only one side of the Pacific’s challenge.
Transport, the lifeline connecting islands, economies and essential services is also under pressure.
Across the region, maritime leaders are grappling not just with vessel safety and rising fuel costs, but new threats moving through Pacific waters, including drug trafficking, illegal activities and broader maritime security risks.
For Vanuatu, maritime reform is now a priority.
“In terms of transport in Vanuatu we looking at safety of vessels, security in the maritime sector, ports especially, and one the area for Vanuatu is how to decarbonize domestic shipping.”
That transition is already underway.
Working alongside the International Maritime Organization, Vanuatu is part of wider regional and global efforts to decarbonise shipping, one of the hardest sectors to transition away from fossil fuels.
“We are part of that decarbonization process and looking into the current reliance of shipping on fuel, and transitioning it to cleaner fuel,” Fikiasi said.
The implications of those decisions go beyond ports and policy rooms.
For Pacific communities, they will shape the cost of imported goods, shipping services, domestic travel and long-term economic resilience.
“This meeting matters to Ni-Vanuatu as decisions made at PRETMM2026 will shape the policy agenda locally.
“It will implicate on costs, on the types of fuel we using and the types of ships that comes into our country, this are something that will impact our communities, cost is one of the things we try to address when we adopt new technology, being mindful of costs, and also how it sustains the industry in the next.”
For Vanuatu, PRETMM is also about measuring progress.
Last year, the government launched its first National Maritime Transport Policy in decades, a major milestone aimed at setting long-term direction for safer, more secure and sustainable transport systems.
Fikiasi says the next step is implementation and securing support.
“So far in the Maritime sector we are implementing some of the policy that we launch last year, we launched our national transport maritime policy, it sets the directions and from there we look into implementation support from the government, from our donor partners and from this conference we will look into making some calls for the donor partners support.”
Hosted by the Government of Papua New Guinea and organised by the Pacific Community (SPC), PRETMM runs from May 4 to 8 at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby under the theme: Scaling Connectivity for a Prosperous Blue Pacific.
Ahead of ministerial talks, heads of maritime and senior officials are meeting to set the technical groundwork, identify priorities and raise emerging challenges.
For the Pacific, the outcome of these conversations will shape far more than transport routes and power systems.
They will shape affordability, resilience, security and the region’s ability to navigate an uncertain future on its own terms.
