Overview:
New Zealand says the United States, China and Taiwan will be invited back to next year’s Pacific Islands Forum, signaling a return to broader regional engagement after last year’s controversial exclusion of development partners in the Solomon Islands. The move comes as Palau prepares to host this year’s Forum under the theme “Belau: Building Economies, Life, Action, Unity.”
WELLINGTON, 06 MAY 2026 (NEWSTALK ZB)—New Zealand will invite the U.S, China, and Taiwan to next year’s Pacific Island Forum talks after the three countries were controversially excluded from last year’s meeting in the Solomon Islands.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said China and the U.S will “definitely be invited” and the New Zealand Government would “hope” they will attend.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele controversially blocked the non-Forum countries from attending the summit, including the U.S and China.
A total of 21 donor countries were barred from the summit in what Manele says was a “sovereign” decision made in the best interests of the Pacific.
A meeting and events briefing for last year’s summit, written by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has been released to Newstalk ZB under the Official Information Act.
In it, MFAT officials said not having partners in Honiara was a “missed opportunity to engage with key supporters of the Pacific at a time when our region needs the widest range of development support”.
Officials said they looked forward to welcoming them back and “to future hosts continuing to fulfil the decades-old obligations around the inclusion of Dialogue and Development Partners and Observers at this meeting”.
The document said New Zealand was in favour of a restatement and clarification of the obligations “so that we do not find ourselves without our Partners again”.
Officials said New Zealand expressed “strong disappointment” with the Solomon Islands’ decision to exclude “all partners” from the Honiara meeting.
Palau is hosting the 55th leaders meeting this year in late August and early September.
Peters said New Zealand stands ready to assist Palau with hosting this year and wants to attract the “greatest possible support for our region from development partners” over the next two forum summits.
AUT senior law lecturer and Pacific expert Sione Tekiteki told Newstalk ZB regional security and climate change are big on the agenda for this year’s summit.
He said the hosts have a significant influence in finalising who attends the event, as was seen in the Solomon Islands.
“From what I’ve heard from Palau, there is an emphasis on trying to get partners back.”
Tekiteki said the normal practice was for all partners to get an invite, and having that not be the case in the Solomon Islands would have disappointed some other Forum member countries.
He said there were “sensitivities”, with Taiwan being a development partner and China being a dialogue partner.
This year’s meeting in Palau will use the country’s indigenous name Belau, which will double as an acronym for “Building Economies: Life, Action, Unity”….PACNEWS
