1. The 2025 Korea-Pacific Islands Inter-Sessional Meeting was held in Seoul on Wednesday, February 5, chaired by Deputy Director-General of the Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Oh Jin-hee. The meeting brought together high-level representatives from all 18 member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the PIF Secretariat.

※ The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is a key regional organization of the Pacific consisting of 14 Pacific island countries (the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Fiji, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru, Niue, the Republic of Palau, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Independent State of Samoa, the Solomon Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Republic of Vanuatu) along with the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, and two French territories (French Polynesia and New Caledonia).

2. This meeting aimed to review the progress in the follow-up on the 2023 Korea-Pacific Islands Summit and to discuss the way forward for Korea-Pacific islands cooperation.

3. In her opening remarks, Deputy Director-General Oh appreciated the development of Korea-Pacific islands relations based on such milestones as the establishment of the ROK-PIF Cooperation Fund in 2008, the launch of the Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting platform in 2011, and the first-ever Korea-Pacific Islands Summit. Sharing the progress made in implementing the summit action plan including the expansion of financial resources for cooperation, she emphasized Korea's commitment to enhancing its contributions to Pacific island countries through tailored cooperation projects.

4. Olita Tupou, Director of Strategic Partnership and International at the Prime Minister’s Office of Tonga -- the PIF Chair for this year and co-host of the inter-sessional meeting -- praised Korea's significant contributions to the implementation of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which aims for sustainable development of the Pacific region. She noted that this meeting provided a timely opportunity to assess the progress of Korea-Pacific islands cooperation and to discuss its way forward.

5. The meeting was attended by representatives from relevant government agencies of Korea including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI). They shared Korea’s ongoing efforts to contribute to Pacific island countries through cooperation in priority areas such as development cooperation, climate change, oceans and fisheries, and connectivity. The Pacific island representatives expressed their appreciation to Korea for its support in addressing their priority issues through various cooperation projects, as well as their hopes for continued and expanded cooperation in the future.

6. The participants also discussed the way forward for Korea-Pacific islands cooperation, including the operation of new ROK-PIF Cooperation Fund projects and preparations for the next Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

7. This meeting is seen to have served as a meaningful opportunity for sharing the progress in Korea-Pacific islands cooperation and for engaging in in-depth discussions on the future direction of cooperation, with participation from all PIF member countries and relevant Korean government agencies.

8. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to make efforts to strengthen practical cooperation with Pacific island countries and contribute to the common prosperity and development of the Pacific region.