PM WALE, COOKS PM BACK STRONGER PACIFIC REGIONAL COOPERATION
Prime Minister Hon. Matthew Wale and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown held a bilateral meeting focusing on shared Pacific priorities, regional cooperation and security.
Prime Minister Brown welcomed the historic first engagement, highlighting the common interests and challenges facing Pacific island countries, particularly those arising from geography and demographics.
Though small, he highlighted the Cook Islands contribution to regional efforts such as in the Solomon Islands through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).
Prime Minister Brown also recognised the contribution of Solomon Islands nurses working in the Cook Islands, describing them as an important people-to-people link between the two countries.
Prime Minister Wale thanked Prime Minister Brown for the invitation and welcomed the opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations and discuss issues of shared regional interest.
The leaders discussed the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), with Prime Minister Wale emphasising the need to strengthen the Forum and ensure Pacific priorities are effectively advanced on the international stage.
Regional security was also discussed, with Prime Minister Wale stressing the importance of developing a stronger Pacific security architecture to protect regional interests.
He raised the growing threat of transnational crime, highlighting the need for Pacific countries to strengthen cooperation and collective responses to emerging security challenges.
Prime Minister Wale also acknowledged the Cook Islands contribution to regional policing through RAMSI, highlighting the mission as an example of Pacific solidarity and practical regional cooperation.
The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of both leaders to working together through the PIF and other regional mechanisms to advance the interests of Pacific peoples.
