Pacific Alliance Leaders Meeting

PALM 10 held in July 2024
PNG’s PM Mekere Morauta at the luncheon meeting of PALM 2 held in April 2000

The Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) is a forum between the government of Japan and leaders in the Pacific Islands region.[1][2]

The Pacific Island Leaders Meeting was established by Japan in 1997 in order to facilitate and strengthen relations with the leaders of the nations of the Pacific Islands Forum.[1] Since its foundation, PALM has become an important venue of dialogue between Japan and Pacific Island nations for important issues such as development aid and climate change.

PALM meetings

# Date Location held
1st 1997 JapanTokyo
2nd 2000 JapanMiyazaki
3rd 2003 JapanOkinawa
4th 2006 JapanOkinawa
5th[3] 2009 JapanHokkaido
6th[4] 2012 JapanOkinawa
7th[5] 2015 JapanFukushima
8th[6] 2018 online
9th[7] 2021 online
10th[8] 2024 JapanTokyo

The first meeting took place in Tokyo in 1997.[1]

PALM 4

At the meeting of the fourth forum Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM 4) in 2006, Japanese and Pacific leaders adopted the Okinawa Partnership. Under the Okinawa Partnership, Japan agreed to increase its commitment to the development of Pacific Islands Forum countries.[1]

PALM 5

The 5th forum of the Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM 5) took place between May 22–23, 2009, in Hokkaido.[1] The meeting was jointly co-chaired by then Prime Minister of Japan Taro Aso and the Premier of Niue Toke Talagi, who was also the chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum at the time.[1]

The 2009 PALM summit was divided into three main themes or objectives.

  • The first theme was entitled, "Eco-friendly: creating a Pacific Environmental Community," which addressed the issues concerning the environment and climate change.[1]
  • The second theme was called "Rich: Overcoming vulnerabilities and promoting human security." This objective discussed what are known as human security issues, including health, water supply, and education in the small island states of the Pacific.[1] The main focus of this discussion was to build the capacity of these resources. Japan planned to discuss its efforts to alleviate the impact of the 2007–2008 financial crisis on the Pacific island nations.[1]
  • The third theme was called "We are Islanders: People to People exchange."[1] This theme's objective was to strengthen cultural exchanges of people between Japan and the Pacific Islands in a way that would benefit both sides strategically.[1]

Fiji, which is under a military dictatorship, was invited to the 2009 PALM forum. However, Commander Frank Bainimarama, the leader of the 2006 coup, was not invited to the meeting.

PALM 6

The sixth forum of the Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM 6) took place between May 25–26, 2012.[9]

Participants

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Tongan PM to attend Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting in Japan". Matangi Tonga. 2009-05-15. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  2. ^ "Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA). May 18, 2021. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Fifth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM5)
  4. ^ The 6th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM6)
  5. ^ The 7th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM7)
  6. ^ The 8th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM8)
  7. ^ The 9th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM9)
  8. ^ The 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10)
  9. ^ "MOFA: The 6th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM6)".