Our weekly round-up of news, commentary & analysis from and about the Pacific island region:
- This insightful item from Michelle Nayamui Rooney provides crucial context to what has been happening in PNG recently.
- The political situation in Nauru is not getting any better but there is still no official response from other Pacific Island Forum countries, including Australia.
- In Vanuatu, senior officials are calling for a reinvigorated approach to homegrown development planning.
- Australia has committed $2 billion to the Pacific Patrol Boats scheme to assist with maritime surveillance and to combat illegal fishing.
- Indonesia's 'Look East' policy envisages tripling the value of trade with the Pacific island region and includes US$20 million for the Pacific Islands Development Forum to combat the effects of climate change.
- At its recent meeting in Nadi, the Pacific Islands Development Forum made some progress in engaging with the private sector and civil society groupings.
- An article in the latest issue of the journal of Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies looks at what the 'Pacific Solution' means for Nauru, PNG and the region more widely.
- This weekend sees the start of the 5th Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture in Papua New Guinea. To get you in the mood here is a performance from the IARE group from Solomon Islands who took part in the last festival in New Caledonia:
[vimeo:15556310]