i _ SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE |S"|| : fi [18-24 OCTOBER 1980| TWENTIETH SOUTH PACIFIC CONFERENCE PORT MORESBY. PAPUA NEW GUINEA 62891 FIRST DAY Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 18 October 1980. The President of Kiribati, His Excellency Ieremia Tabai, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, the Right Honourable Toaripi Lauti, and Government Ministers from a number of countries were among the participants and observers who gathered in the University Lecture Hall today to hear the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Julius Chan, officially open the Twentieth South Pacific Conference. In his opening speech, the Prime Minister suggested that the Pacific Islands still have much to learn in the import- ant areas of cooperation, unity and leadership. The people of the region, he said, should pool their resources, experience, culture and wisdom and demonstrate a deeper commitment to the cause of regional cooperation. The Prime Minister noted that the intangible values of consensus and cooperation which formed the basis of traditional social relations could not be applied to economic projects, which had to be measured in terms of hard economic results. He suggested that projects which failed to provide measurable net benefits drained resources to the detriment of relations with aid donors and relations between Pacific Island countries. The Prime Minister also criticised attempts by non- islanders who encouragcd or initiated jealousies and suspicions that frustrated attempts to achieve true cooperation. The Prime Minister emphasised the need for each country to put the welfare of others before its own interests. Love and trust, he said, were essential to survival in today'6 tough, turbulent world. The region must have the couragc and the will to face up to the problems created by a rapidly-changing environ- ment. 2 Papua Hew Guinea's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Honourable Noel W. Levi, who is chairing the Conference, said that the time had come for Pacific Island States to stand together on issues of regional concern and to form a political alliance to make their opinions known to the world. He suggested that the South Pacific Forum and the South Pacific Commission should be streamlined to avoid dupli- cation of effort and squandering of resources. Papua New Guinea, he said, would welcome the convening of a Pacific States meeting to discuss thequection of regional solidarity. The Minister suggested that the two special themes to be discussed by the Conference, "Women's role in the development of the Pacific region" and "The economic aspects of fisheries development and management" were particularly appropriate. Both dealt with untapped resources that could have significant impact if properly developed. The Secretary-General of the South Pacific Commission, the Honourable M. Young Vivian, recalled the words of a Chimbu leader at the Sixth South Pacific Conference, held in Lae, t Papua New Guinea, in 1965. The Chimbu leader, he said, had struggled with problems- that were basic to the dignity and survival of himself and his children's 'children. Fifteen years laterj many of those problems remained unsolved and new ones were arising. The Government of Papua New Guinea, said the Secretary-General, had amply demonstrated its commitment to the Commission's role in solving regional problems and had added a new dimension to regional awareness by staging the spectacularly successful Third South Pacific Festival of Arts. The Secretary-General said that on a recent viait to Tuvalu, he had heard a group of singers perform a song in which the crew of a canoe sought guidance from their captain on the direction they should take. The Commission too, he said, looked forward to guidance from the region's leaders in its search for regional approaches to Pacific Islands problems. • - Thanking the Government and people of Papua New Guinea for hosting the Conference, the Secretary-Ceneral expressed appreciation of all their efforts to ensure that the Conference ran smoothly. 3 Dancer' Iron the Kiwai area of the Western Province and froo Gnire village in the Central Province entertained Chose attending the opening ceremony. Heads of delegations to the Conference are spending the weekend in Madang as guests of the Government. The Conference will resume on Monday afternoon. Original text : English mjQbm SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE U5rC / I [18-24 OCTOBER I980| TWENTIETH SOUTH PACIFIC CONFERENCE X^....-'^® PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA SECOND DAY Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 21 October 1980. The Twentieth South Pacific Conference reconvened yesterday afternoon. After formally adopting its agenda and appointing a Steering Committee, the Conference discussed the question of Accession to the Canberra Agreement by which the South Pacific Commission was founded. ! The Representative of Australia, Senator J.P. Sim, informed the Conference that the Cook Islands and Niue had now become Partici- pating Governments of the Commission, following a recent amendment to the Canberra Agreement which permits countries within the region that are in free association with a fully independent Government to accede to the Agreement. The Representative of. the Cook Islands, Mr J. Cosselin, read a message from the Premier, Dr T.R.A.H. Davis, in which the Premier said that his Government placed high value on the work of SPC and its role in promoting regional cooperation. The Cook Islands, said the Premier in his statement, had now achieved greater inter- national recognition of their status and were fully prepared to t accept the increased responsibility of being a full member of SPC. The Representative of Niue, the Hon. Dr E. Lipitoa, said that Niue was honoured at becoming a Participating Government of SPC and pledged full support for the organisation. He also asked the Conference to take note of the special difficulties of the smaller Island countries. The Conference then approved' an amendment to its Rules of Procedure which permits the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to sit as full Conference members. The Representative of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Hon. Adrian P. Winkel, explained that the Northern Marianas, the Federated States and the Marshall Islands had now achieved substantial self- government. He hoped that the Conference would also welcome to r 2 membership the Republic of Palau when it joined the family of nations in 1981. The Representative of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Hon. C.S. Camacho, said that his Islands now had full self- government for the first time after 400 years of foreign domina- tion. He considered that the Pacific Islands shared many problems and could find within the Conference and SPC the concepts and mechanisms to provide regional leadership and enable them to speak with a united voice. The Representative of the Marshall Islands, the Hon. W. Kendall, outlined recent changes in the political structure of the Marshall Islands and said that his Government's participation in the Conference was a further step towards self-determination and the expansion of links with the rest of the Pacific. The Representative of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Hon. Petrus Tun, spoke of the many restraints hampering the development of the four states within the federation, and of the need for improved infrastructure and communications. The Federated States, he said, were impressed by the economic and political development of other Pacific Island countries, and by the activities of SPC, SPEC and other organisations working in the region. The Representative of Vanuatu, the Hon. T.R. Seru, informed the Conference that this was the second regional meeting which Vanuatu had attended since achieving independence some two months ago. The Government of Vanuatu, he said, welcomed the end of the unique Condominium system of government, and would play the fullest possible role in SPC and other regional institutions. All delegations attending the Conference warmly welcomed the new members. The Conference then heard a brief statement by the leader of the New Zealand delegation, the Right Hon. L.R..Adams-Schneider, explaining that, regrettably, he was obliged to return to New Zealand the following day. The President of Kiribati, His Excollcncy leremia Tabai, expressed appreciation of SPC's ability to change in keeping with new political realities in the region. 3 The Ambassador of Peru in Australia, His Excellency J. Torres-Muga, informed the Conference of Peru's desire to protect ocean resources and to strengthen its links with the Pacific Islands. The Conference then heard statements on assessed and voluntary contributions to SPC's budget for 1981.* The Representative of Australia said that in addition to its assessed contribution, Australia would provide grants of A$25,000 in 1981 for consultancy services for projects approved by the Conference. The Representative of Fiji, the Hon. J. Mavoa, announcing his country's contribution, welcomed the evolution of the Confer ence over recent years. The South Pacific Commission, he said, was the only comprehensive organisation serving the region. This comprehensiveness, he said, was one of the main strengths of SPC, which must be given the tools to respond more meaningfully to the needs of the region. The Representative of France, Mr P. Revol, said that in addition to its assessed contribution, his Government would contri- bute to the fourth year of SPC's Skipjack Programme at the same level as in previous years. The Representative of New Zealand said chat, in addition to its assessed contribution, his Covernment would also contribute at the same level to the fourth year of the Skipjack Programme, and would be prepared to provide $60,000 annually in 1981-1984 for the new Tuna and Billfish Assessment Programme. The Representative of the United Kingdom confirmed that his Government would meet its assessed contribution. He said, how- ever, that the United Kingdom would anticipate a reduction in percentage terms should Kiribati and Vanuatu decide to become Participating Governments of SPC.