DG Welcome Remarks – DPS2

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) convened its 2nd Development Partner Symposium in Suva, Fiji, bringing together FFA Members and development partners for two days of high-level dialogue and collaboration. Under the theme “Casting Together for Impactful and Sustainable Fisheries,” the symposium provides a platform for structured discussions focused on funding support, technical cooperation, capacity building, and shared regional fisheries priorities. In his welcome address, the Director-General highlighted the importance of strengthened partnerships, collective action, and aligned investments to drive sustainable fisheries development and long-term impact across the region.

The following is the FFA Director General Noan Pakop’s welcome remarks at the 2nd Development Partner Symposium (DPS2).

Excellencies,

Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished Development Partners,
FFA Members,
Colleagues and friends of the FFA,

It is my pleasure to warmly welcome you to this 2nd FFA Development Partners Symposium.

We gather under the theme “Casting Together for Impactful and Sustainable Fisheries.” This theme reflects both our heritage and our responsibility.
In the Pacific way, casting is better done together. It requires coordination, shared timing and shared trust. A single canoe may fish — but it is when we move together
that we secure lasting abundance.

At the heart of this conversation is one undeniable truth:

Tuna is the greatest natural resource of the Blue Pacific.
It is, in many respects, the common currency of our region.

For many of our Members, tuna revenues underpin national budgets and development priorities, and for some of our Members it is their only natural resource. They support public services, strengthen economic resilience, and reinforce sovereign decision-making. The stewardship of this resource is central to our collective future as the Blue Pacific Region.

Nearly five decades ago, Pacific Leaders made a visionary decision to establish a regional fisheries agency. That decision has enabled our region to manage what are today recognised as the most sustainable tuna fisheries in the world. But leadership in sustainable fisheries is not a status we inherit – it is one we must continually earn.

We now operate in a far more dynamic and complex environment – shaped by climate variability, shifting stocks, evolving compliance standards, technological change and increasing geopolitical interest in our ocean space.

This makes coordination, cooperation and partnership more important than ever. Over the past year, the Secretariat has reflected carefully on its role and performance. An independent performance review had provided recommendations to strengthen our systems, governance and delivery which the Secretariat is currently comprehensively addressing. We are also preparing a new Strategic Plan to be presented to Ministers in June.

This is a moment of renewal ensuring that the FFA Secretariat remains fit for purpose, responsive to Members, and positions them to lead in a rapidly changing environment.

Today’s Symposium offers an opportunity to engage openly with you, our development partners, on how we align our efforts, strengthen coordination and invest strategically in sustainable outcomes.

We value your support, both financial and technical, to the important work we do for our Members. But above all, we value partnership built on transparency, mutual respect and shared long-term objectives.

If we are to safeguard the greatest shared asset of the Blue Pacific, we must continue casting together – deliberately and strategically.

Once again, I warmly welcome you and look forward to engaging in fruitful discussions over the coming days.

Thank you

Media Contacts: Emily V. Moli FFA Communications Manager e: [email protected] Ernest Ta'asi FFA Communications Officer e: ernest.ta’[email protected] Priscilla Ragu FFA Communications Officer e: [email protected]

About Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) FFA assists its 17 Members to sustainably manage fishery resources that fall within their 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). FFA provides expertise, technical assistance and other support to its members who make decisions about their tuna resources and participate in regional decision making on tuna management. Find out more here: www.ffa.int