Pacific Islands Forum and CARICOM Sign Pact as Small Island States Seek a Louder Voice

The Pacific Islands Forum and the Caribbean Community formalised a new partnership during UN General Assembly high-level week in New York, signing a memorandum of understanding on the margins of the 81st session that commits the two regional groupings to coordinate advocacy on behalf of small island and low-lying coastal developing states. PIF Secretary-General Baron Divavesi Waqa and CARICOM Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett signed the agreement, which both organisations described as a milestone in South-South cooperation.

Shared vulnerabilities, shared advocacy

“As regions comprised largely of small island and low-lying coastal developing states, we share common vulnerabilities, from the acute impacts of climate change to the unique economic pressures facing our nations,” Barnett said, adding that the partnership strengthens the two blocs’ “collective advocacy on the global stage.” Waqa said “our voices are strongest when we advocate together on issues affecting our peoples and our future.” The MoU sets up a framework for sharing knowledge and expertise and pursuing practical cooperation between the two regions.

A parting dialogue with Guterres

Separately, Pacific Islands Forum leaders held what was billed as their final dialogue with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in this format before his term ends in December 2026. Forum Chair and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr said “the Pacific must continue to navigate together,” pointing to the region’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent as its guiding framework, while Guterres told leaders “the biggest richness of our world is the Pacific Ocean and that means that the region must be effectively protected.” Leaders raised climate financing, the Pacific Resilience Facility, sea-level rise and peace and security priorities, alongside calls for reform of the wider multilateral system.

Why it matters

Small island states have long argued that their outsized exposure to climate change and limited diplomatic weight individually leave them underrepresented in global institutions. Linking two of the world’s most prominent groupings of small island states gives them a bigger combined voting bloc and negotiating platform heading into future UN climate and development talks, even if converting that alliance into concrete outcomes will take longer than a signing ceremony.