Special Press Release [24 - 30 October 1981| Twenty-First South Pacific Conference Port Vila

> - SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE [24 - 30 OCTOBER 1981| TWENTY-FIRST SOUTH PACIFIC CONFERENCE PORT VILA. VANUATU FIRST DAY Port Vila, Vanuatu, 24 October .1981, The Twenty-First South l'acific Conference was officially opened on Saturday morning, 24 October, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Port Vila. The opening ceremony took place in the presence of His Excellency Ati George Sokomanu, President of the Vanuatu Republic, the Right Honourable Tupuola Efi, Prime Minister of Western Samoa, who Is at present In Vanuatu on an official visit, and delegations from all the countries and territories that are members of the South Pacific Conference. The Honourable Walter Llni, Prima Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu, gave the opening address following a statement by the Honourable M. Young Vivian, Secretary-Ceneral of the South Pacific Commission. Mr Vivian, who took the floor first, expressed his deep giatitude to the Government of Vanuatu for hosting this Conference so shortly after attaining independence. He then made a pressing appeal for unity and harmony in the region. Throughout his address he stressed the need for a coaaunal spirit, the spirit now popularly known as "Hie Pacific Way", which Atould permeate all relationships in the Pacific and should alao Inspire the work of this Twenty-First Conference. Under the guidance of this spirit, the Conference, which, the Secret'ary-Genr-ral said, had been evolving over the past decade at a greater rate then ever before, will continue to strive for "the betterment of die lot of our peoples in the Pacific community". Speaking of current developments, Mr Vivian defined the present as "a time when national pride throughout the region has become more dominant than ever before; a time when all countries In the region have recognized the inherent value of our traditional way of life; a time when there is a re-examination of the relevance of western ideologies and practices in the life of our peoples; < • and a time when the region as a whole is critically evaluating the value of the South Pacific Comadsslon to the region". 1 2 The Secretary-General expressed the hope that countries and territories would give the South Pacific Commission the direction, commitment, and resources it needed to cope with the difficult and important Issues facing it. In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, the Honourable Walter Lini called the Conference "one of the -most Important dates in the calendar of regional events". The growing crises In the worM* today, Mr Lini said, places upon the Pacific "obligations to make every effort to meet with our own resources and with our own collective will the challenges which face our people. If we are to advance...it will princi- pally be achieved by what we are able to do for ourselves in the spirit of mutuality and cooperation. The work of the Commission can be central to such an aim". The Prime Minister stressed the need for Pacific Island'.nations to maximize their resources in order to "become truly Independent, truly- self-reliant, and develop a strong and stable economic base which will assist us In outriding external pressures and persuasions...What we make will make us. It Is my considered opinion that the Commission's role In such a process can be both Immediate snd dynamic". For Mr I.lnl, the peoples of the Pacific must establish confidence In themselves and their abilities, wake up, assert themselves. He felt It was unfortunate that "the Pacific remains one of the last regions of the world where the heavy hand of colonialism ccmtinu® to be played". Ihe Prime Minister highlighted the role of women in Pacific society, a subject which will be extensively discussed by the Twenty-First Conference. Referring to the issue of nuclear activity In the region, Mr Linl stated: "It Is a matter of life and death that the Pacific Ocean be declared a nuclear-free zone. Testing of any kind must be outlawed, as must the duaplng of nuclear waste, the carrying of nuclear devices In submarines or die overflying of alrcrafts carrying them. On tbls crucial Issue", he tmdarllned, "there can be no compromise, no retreat". The formal part of the opening ceremony ended with the Prime Minister's address, and delegations and guests then gathered outside for the official photograph, followed by refreshments and traditional dances performed by a group from Tanna. Original text: French - SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE I 124 - 30 OCTOBER 198 TWENTY-FIRST SOUTH PACIFIC CONFERENCE PORT VILA, VANUATU SECOND DAY Port Vila, Vanuatu, 26 October 1981.. Mr Francis Bugotu, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Solomon Islands, was unanimously appointed by the Twenty-First Conference to be the next Secretary-General of the South Pacific Commission. Mr Bugotu will take up his appointment on 1st July 1982 when Hon. M. Young Vivian's term of office expires. Mr Vivian congratulated his successor and wished him every success. On behalf of the Conference, the Chairman, Mr Donald Ralpokas, thanked Mr Vivian for his devoted dedication and application to the South Pacific Commission during hie term. The Solomon Islands Representative thanked the Conference and expressed regret that Mr Bugotu had not been able to attend. After a few words of welcome by the Chairman to participants who had only Just arrived, this second day of the Conference started with a statement by the Governor of American Samoa, the Hon. Peter T. Coleman. Governor Coleman declared that he was withdrawing American Samoa's nomination for the post of Secretary-General In the spirit of the Pacific Way, although he did not find it easy to do so. He then defended the links binding his Territory to the United States, which, he said, in no way consisted of making the former dependents of the latter. As evidence, the Governor mentioned the fact that 75Z of American Samoa's Gross National Product was derived from the work of Its Inhabitants. He wondered whether the notion of independence had any meaning where a country did not have the mesne to provide food, education and health care for everyone. Lastly, Governor Coleman made an appeal for establishing trade relations between Pacific Islands. The Conference has a new member .country: the Republic of Pslau. Before giving up bis seat to the Republic of Palau. the Representative of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands recalled that the three other entitles which ussd to make up the TTPI: the Federated States of Mleronesls, the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, were admitted as full members of the South Pacific Conference last year in Port Moresby. His Excellency Haruo I. Remeliik, President of the Republic of Palau, extended to the Conference the greetings of his Government and his people, assuring the Conference and the SPC Secretariot of his desire to cooperate with them. Lastly, the United States Representative declared that the admission of these political entities was a step towards the end of trustee- ship by his couhtry. The Conference then adopted the Report of the Secretary-General on action taken on the Resolutions of the Twentieth South Pacific Conference, held In Port Moresby. The most salient of these resolutions concerned assessed contributions by Participating Government, economic aspects of fisheries development and management, women's role in development in the Pacific Region, the Pacific Islands Regional Development Fund, the Regional Advisory Service, types of stabilisation schemes suitable for South Pacific economies, regional institutional arrangements (Report of the South Pacific Forum/South Pacific Conference Committee), and the Council of Pacific Arts. Invited to accept the Reports of this year's meetings of the Committee of Representatives of Participating Governments, the Conference did so during the afternoon. Australia had reserved Its position ss regards a recommended 17.5* salary increase for SPC staff, whereupon the United Kingdom had expressed reservations on the proposed 10% Increase in assessed contributions. Finally, the Representative for Australia, after being given more Information, declared that he could fully see the need for this increase. On the other hand, there wae unanimous agreement that the post of Director of Administration be changed to Deputy Director of Programmes. Participants then turned to the economic theme selected for discussion this year: Development of practical measures to increase self-reliance in the Pacific, with special reference to agriculture, fisheries and renewable energy sources. An expert in this field, from the Northern Mariana Islands, pointed out that he has been involved in local renewable energy aources long before the 1973 oil crlels, in particular in the recycling of term wastes at village * level. In the Northern Marianas, demonstration projects are now being implemented on solar, wind and biomass energy. There is also an OTEC project now being considered by the U.S. Department of Energy. French Polynesia summarised its own research and achievements in solar, biomass and ocean thermal energy, stressing that the working method adopted was to conduct research directly in the field, in other words, that fundamental and applied research was taking place concurrently, and that in such research,•the welfare of the population was of the highest consideration. French Polynesia offered to host a technical meeting on the subject of energy, and the representative indicated that his country would provide all facilities and services for this meeting. As in previous years, the Chairman then went around the table to allow every country and territory to announce its contribution to the SPC budget for the 1982 financial year. All Participating Governments increased their assessed contributions by 10%. Some of them - Australia, France, New Zealand and the United States - in addition stated their intention to fund the Tuna and Blllfish Assessment Programme.

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