The Pacific International Relations Forum (PIRF) was launched on 9 October 2012 to create an active platform for dialogue and discussion among Pacific peoples about the region's collective concerns.
Created and led by people studying in the University's rapidly growing Diplomacy and International Affairs Program, PIRF will provide the first debate forum on international affairs run by USP students and alumni, who include Pacific Islands professionals with long experience in public service and businesses in the Pacific region. For more details, see About PIRF.
The initiative was launched on 9 October by the President of Kiribati, His Excellency Mr Anote Tong, at a well-attended gathering at the Holiday Inn in Suva. After delivering keynote address, the President commented, "As leaders we do not always have the answers and we look forward to inputs into our foreign policies which the Forum may care to put forward."
Read President Anote Tong's full address here.
The PIRF will promote discussion of a broad range of international issue areas, including international trade and investment; international security; conflict, international peacekeeping and conflict resolution; global and regional environmental challenges; and the impact of developments in global and regional governance. It will also foster discussion about how Pacific Islands states can rise to the challenges and opportunities posed by global developments.
In conveying the USP's support towards the initiative, Professor Vijay Naidu said that the University saw it as an opportunity to encourage debate and knowledge-sharing around international issues and challenges that are crucial to Pacific societies.
Professor Naidu serves as Head of the School of Government, Development and International Affairs (SGDIA) where PIRF will be housed and was speaking on behalf of USP President Rajesh Chandra.
"We welcome the fact that it links the University to the wider community," Professor Naidu commented in his introduction to the proceedings, "and that it is committed to fostering a regional knowledge network, a value dear to our hearts at the regional University."
The Kiribati President emphasized the need to engage even more aggressively internationally because the key to Pacific's survival will depend on international action on key issues such as climate change. He noted that the region has been increasingly engaged in some significant groupings within the United Nations: for example, Nauru's selection as Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States and Fiji's appointment as the Chair of G77 and China, as well as Samoa hosting the Global Small Island Developing States Conference in 2014.
PIRF Coordinating Committee and friends, with the President of Kiribati (third from right, front row)
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