PACIFIC governments are tightening cooperation on border security and labour mobility as regional migration, crime and security pressures intensify, with immigration leaders meeting in Suva this week to mark 30 years of the Pacific Immigration Development Community (PIDC).
The 30th PIDC Regional Annual Meeting opened at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Fiji, where Immigration Minister Viliame Naupoto said the region now faces “migration pressures, economic uncertainty, international conflicts and emerging security threats.”
He said Pacific states need modern border management systems, stronger legislation and faster information sharing to protect communities while keeping travel and trade moving.
PIDC, established in Fiji in 1996, has grown into a key forum for cooperation, information sharing and partnership among Pacific immigration agencies.
This year’s theme, “Innovation, Security and Partnerships for a Secure Pacific Border,” reflects the balance Pacific governments are trying to strike between open movement and tighter border control.
Naupoto also linked immigration cooperation to the wider 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, saying that immigration agencies are central to trade, tourism, labour mobility, and educational opportunities across the region.
He pointed to Fiji’s recent hosting of the Pacific Heads of Police Meeting as evidence of growing coordination with law enforcement against transnational crime.
The meeting brought together immigration leaders and practitioners from across the Pacific and ended with a renewed call for stronger partnerships, secure borders and a safer, more connected region.
