[Source: UN-Missions]
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be in Tonga in time for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting next week.
The Australian Associated Press says while in Tonga he will visit sites still recovering from the 2022 tsunami, engage in a PIF dialogue with leaders, as well as hosting bilateral meetings.
“It says a spokesman for the secretary-general hoped the visit would “raise awareness of the importance of climate action measures including early warning systems, adaptation and mitigation.”
The Pacific sweep begins on Wednesday in Samoa, also focusing on climate change, before a stopover in Auckland en route to the PIF Leaders Meeting.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon said he was particularly keen to be updated on negotiations for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
He will also be visiting Samoa, New Zealand, and East Timor.
Guterres will conclude his Pacific tour in Timor-Leste at the end of August, a visit timed with the 25th anniversary of the UN-organised constitution.
It is his first visit to the region since 2019 – when he visited Christchurch in the wake of the mosques terrorist attack – travelling also to Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
