The Pacific Islands Forum says the focus at its leaders' summit next month will be regionalism.
The slogan for the meeting on Nauru is "Building a Strong Pacific: Our People, Our Islands, Our Will."
The Forum said the region was hampered by its lack of resources; its geography, isolation and vulnerability to disasters, while it copes with global economic system that doesn't favour small Pacific states.
It said these factors have profound impacts on the safety and well-being of its people.
The Forum said this was reflected in the weak performance across the region in trying to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, with most countries achieving less than half of the eight targets.
It said conventional development strategies borrowed from other parts of the world have not delivered for the Pacific.
The Forum to achieve a strong, sustainable, and secure Pacific will require 'transformational adjustments' that leverage the benefits of greater regionalism.