Korea-Pacific islands FM meeting to open Monday

By Kim Se-jeong

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade invited foreign ministers from 13 Pacific island countries for a meeting next Monday.

The list of invited countries include Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Tuvalu, Micronesia, Tonga, Palau, Cook Islands, Kiribati, and Niue.

“The meeting’s prime focus is on development cooperation, environmental protection and climate change,” the ministry said in its press release.

More than 20,000 islands exist in the Pacific Ocean. Many were colonized in the past, with some still remaining as a territory of countries like the United States, France, Chile, Russia, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

Given the size of the islands and a low altitude, the Pacific island countries are on the verge of extinction amid rising sea levels due to global warming. Their call for swift international action to prevent further consequences of climate change has grown very strong.

On the sidelines of the one-day summit, the Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will hold a bilateral meeting with Papua New Guinea and Fiji foreign ministers. With the Marshall Islands, Cook Islands and Vanuatu, he’ll sign a memorandum of understanding on an exchange of tax information.