Micronesia unified in Forum withdrawal
REPUBLIC OF NAURU
Government Information Office
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, 9 February, 2021
Micronesia unified in Forum
withdrawal
The five Presidents of Micronesia
will honour the Mekreos Communiqué and withdraw from the Pacific
Islands Forum, as stated in a joint communiqué released today, 9
February.
The leaders met virtually
yesterday, 8 February, and are united in their decision. They will
now initiate the process to formally withdraw from the Forum, which
Palau has already commenced late last week.
The new communiqué states:
- The President of the Federated States of Micronesia, the
President of the Republic of Kiribati, the President of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the President of the Republic of
Nauru and the President of the Republic of Palau convened a virtual
meeting on 8th February, 2021.
- The Micronesian Presidents expressed unity and solidarity and
restated that their position remains in accordance with
the Micronesian Presidents' Summit (MPS) Special Leaders
Meeting Mekreos Communiqué, 2020. There is no value in
participating in an organization that does not respect established
agreements, including the gentlemen's agreement on sub-regional
rotation.
- The Micronesian Presidents collectively expressed great
disappointment with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General
appointment process.
Withdrawal from the Pacific Islands
Forum
4. The
Micronesian Presidents jointly agreed that all five nations will
initiate the formal process of withdrawing from the Pacific Islands
Forum, as set out in Article XII of the Agreement
Establishing the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. Each
nation will undertake this process with respect to its own internal
legal and procedural requirements and final decision rests with
respective governments.
5. The
Micronesian Presidents look forward to strengthening the work of
subregional organizations including the Micronesian Presidents'
Summit.
His Excellency President Lionel
Aingimea believes the Forum has lost its original intent to be a
regional body and what the Forum was originally set up to do.
The Mekreos Communiqué endorsed at
the special meeting of the Micronesian Presidents in Palau in
October 2020 underscores the Gentleman's Agreement and intentions
to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) should the
agreement not be honoured and Micronesia denied its turn to
nominate the secretary general of the premier regional
institution.
The PIF was formed in 1971 and has
only been led once by a Micronesian secretary general in its 50
year history. The original members were Australia, Cook Islands,
Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa.