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Australia will respond to the needs of Pacific nations: Albanese

July 11, 2022 12:50 pm

Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. [Source: Supplied]

Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese says he is delighted to be visiting Fiji this week for the Pacific Islands Forum – the region’s premier political and economic policy organization.

He says the Forum brings many voices together from across the beautiful and diverse islands and projecting a strong voice across the vast Pacific Ocean and around the world.

Albanese says for Australia, the Pacific is its home and heart and it treasures the mutual bonds of friendship and diversity that it shares with the region.

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The Australian Prime Minister says this week’s Forum is an opportunity for leaders to continue their conversation about the sort of region they want it to be.

With urgent climate change challenges on the rise, Albanese says Pacific Island countries are seeing rising sea levels, saltwater incursion, food and water insecurity, biodiversity loss and an increasing frequency of extreme weather events.

He says Australia will respond to the need and priorities of Pacific nations without imposing unsustainable financial burdens or expecting something in return.