Melanesian Spearhead Group

This is the first MSG Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) for this year ahead of the Special Leaders’ Summit scheduled for July this year.

The meeting was held after a number of deferrals due to national priorities and other regional and international commitments for some members of the MSG.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, who is the current Chair of the MSG, made the assurance when a delegation of ULMWP leaders met with him in Port Vila yesterday requesting him to favourably consider two issues for addressing by the MSG.

This was revealed by Fiji's foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola Thursday when he met with EU heads of mission in Suva.

The experienced Fijian diplomat was interim Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) before he was appointed as Ambassador for Climate Change and Oceans.

Ambassador Yauvoli previously served as Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group has finalised the text of its trade agreement at a meeting in New Caledonia today.

With the MSGTA3 due to be signed on November the 16th, delegates have been in Noumea this week negotiating the text.

The current agreement only refers to goods, while the new one will include services, investment, telecommunications, e-commerce and labour mobility.

The programme manager of trade and investment for the MSG Secretariat, John Licht, says Papua New Guinea has been pressed to relax its visa requirements, in line with the other MSG countries.

Sogavare's statement is the second statement from the Pacific that has raised concerns of human rights violations in West Papua, with emphasis for the UN to intervene.

Tongan Prime Minister this week also highlighted humanrights abuses facing people of West Papua.

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister informed  UNGA on the developments at the MSG and the Pacific Islands Forum, including the plea to Indonesia to accept unrestricted access to a possible mission of a fact finding mission to West Papua.

The comment from Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, comes after his fellow Pacific Islands Forum leaders failed to reach a unified position on the issue.

Most countries had wanted to push for a temperature increase over pre-industrial levels of less than 1.5 degrees celsius at the COP21 meeting in Paris.

But this was opposed by New Zealand and Australia and the Forum concluded with a weaker 'agree to disagree' position.

The meetings are being held at the Tanoa International Hotel, Nadi, Fiji. 

Senior officials and representatives from Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will be in attendance as part of talks towards a new and more comprehensive trade agreement - MSGTA3 – that will now include Trade in Services, and new chapters such as Labour Mobility, Investment, and Telecommunications. 

MSG Leaders have directed that a draft legal text of the trade agreement must be ready by November 2015.

The meetings include: 

The organisation’s General Secretary, Octo Mote says, there’s still a lot be done.

Being granted Observer status, adds a new chapter for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

A movement that champions self-determination.

Last week’s ruling by the MSG has boosted the confidence of the Movement.

He said this after the MSG group granted Indonesia application to be an Associate member and gave the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Observer Status.

“As a Melanesian Group, it is important that we hear what our communities are demanding,” O’Neill told leaders at the closing of the MSG meeting.

He says the decision to include Indonesia and ULMWP is one that is very historic.

“As everyone else in the region, we want the same things. We want peace, we want security and we want better standards of living for our families.” Says O’Neill

In a break from tradition where announcement of the MSG Leaders decision is supposed to be made by its chair, host of the summit, Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands, O’Neill’s office announced that Indonesia is an associate member of the MSG and that the United Liberation Movement of West Papua has been granted observer status.
 
“Today is very a important day for peace and goodwill for our brothers and sisters living in Indonesia’s Melanesian provinces,” said O’Neill’s press announcement.