Fellow Forum Ministers of Trade and Fisheries,
Heads of Delegations,
Ambassador Peter Thomson, UNSG’s Special Envoy for the
Ocean
Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Angela Paolini Ellard, WTO Deputy Director-General
Dr. Filimon Manoni, PIFS Acting Secretary-General,
Bula Vinaka.
We have had good speakers providing perspective on the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, the Multilateral Trading System and the Fisheries Subsidies.
These are all very much interlinked and connected. For us to achieve a blue Pacific, we must have a well-functioning multilateral trading system and meaningful and effective agreement and disciplines on fisheries subsidies.
Colleagues,
As the Hon. Prime Minister and Chair of the Forum had said during the launch of the 2050 Strategy, that this is more than just a framework. It is a vision and it is a hope. The Strategy is a combined Pacific message of resilience and unity for a purpose.
The stark reality is that no one will come to protect our oceans for us. We need to take the lead.
Being custodians of the world’s largest ocean and the largest ecosystem, we must also be responsible. It is our combined role to take on that responsibility, to take ownership and prepare to save our oceans, our resources with all it takes.
As Trade and Fisheries Ministers, we have strong policy tools at our disposal. One of which is the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. I cannot emphasise enough that it was the Pacific’s solidarity and leadership that ensured we had an outcome at the twelfth Ministerial Conference.
We were not intimidated by our lack of size or by the larger and advanced WTO members. And we should not be intimidated into inaction. Using the multilateral trading system and the WTO as a launching pad, we, as a united Pacific, should forge ahead in designing a comprehensive agreement on fisheries subsidies – that addresses our needs and places our oceans and its preservation.
We will not be quiet about what is necessary to save us and our oceans. Our Leaders with the launch of the 2050 Strategy have shown political leadership and regionalism. We as Trade and Fisheries Ministers must carry on their vision and act as per their mandate.
The 2050 Strategy places a central focus on our ocean.
The Strategy emphasises protecting our oceans, but it also seeks to ensure that we can benefit from the ocean resources through sustainable and blue economic development.
Colleagues,
This is why we need to capitalise on the synergies between the work that is done at the multilateral levels, whether it is at the WTO, UNFCCC – for climate change and oceans.
This is why the Pacific has called on the WTO to not lose momentum on the fisheries subsidies negotiations. We cannot wait for 109 members to ratify the partial fisheries agreement before commencing the second wave of the negotiations – both must take place concurrently and as soon as possible.
A fuller FSA that fully addresses the mandate of SDG 14.6 will go a long way in safeguarding resources and safeguarding our Blue Pacific Continent.
The process must start now. We need to take action now, before it is too late to save our oceans.
