The 5th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM5)
The Leaders of Japan and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) countries met and successfully concluded the Fifth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting or the PALM 5, which was held in Hokkaido, the northern most island of Japan, from 22 to 23 May 2009. The Leaders and representatives of Japan, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu were in attendance. The Meeting was co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Taro Aso, and the Chair of the PIF and Premier of Niue, the Hon Toke Tufukia Talagi.
Reflecting their common heritage as island nations and a shared responsibility for the protection of the Pacific Ocean, the Leaders of Japan and the PIF expressed a mutual commitment to face future challenges to the region in the spirit of equal partnership and adopted the theme for PALM 5 of "We are islanders - Towards an Eco-friendly and Rich Pacific".
The Leaders happily welcomed the announcement of the commitment by the Leader of Japan to provide assistance to the extent of 50 billion yen to Pacific island countries over the next three years.