Virtual meeting

The focus of the Special Leaders Retreat will be the COVID-19 pandemic and the appointment of the next Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.

This is after many of the leaders could not commit to this week's dates.

The virtual meeting, scheduled for 16-18 December, was expected to discuss how member states are coping with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The meeting was also to appoint the new Secretary-general.

Papua New Guinea's Dame Meg Taylor ends her tenure at the secretariat next month.

Photo supplied Caption" Outgoing PIF Secretary General Dame Meg Taylor

The ministers will consider how to sustain the livelihood of observers, given that they have been kept off purse seiners because of the coronavirus.

The director general of the Forum Fisheries Agency, Manu Tupou-Roosen, said the pandemic had significantly affected fishing, particularly its monitoring, control and surveillance.

However the pandemic had helped the sector to recognise the value of improving broadband capabilities in the region, Dr Tupou-Roosen said