Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Penny Wong, was welcomed at the Pacific Islands Forum headquarters in Suva this morning.
It is her first official visit after the re-election.
Wong says she returns with a mandate from the Australian people to continue working together with PIF members.
Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Penny Wong.
She says three years ago, when she first became Minister, she promised to learn, listen, and then act, and believes they have done that and will do it again this time around.
Wong says Australia and the region share an ocean and a future that is becoming uncertain.
The Minister says the Pacific faces growing challenges from climate change, global cuts, among other issues, which no country can solve on its own.
She says the Pacific needs to count on each other to overcome these challenges.
Wong says each country should play its part in a Pacific that is peaceful, stable, and prosperous.
She says they must work together to make the region even more resilient.
The Australian Minister stresses that Australia is a partner the Pacific can count on.
She says their position is that they are the largest and most comprehensive development partner of the Pacific.
Wong says they have lifted their development assistance in the region to more than AUD 2.1 billion.
The Minister is expected to visit the Colonial War Memorial Hospital later this afternoon.
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