SUVA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The 48th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting will kick off in the Samoa capital of Apia on Tuesday.
According to Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, chairmanship of the forum, the theme of the annual regional gathering of the PIF is The Blue Pacific - Our Sea of Islands.
"The Blue Pacific provides a new narrative for Pacific regionalism and how the forum engages with the world," he told reporters before the Small Island States Leaders' meeting which is underway Monday ahead of the PIF leaders' meeting.
It will require a different way of working together that prioritizes The Blue Pacific as the core driver of forum policy making and collective action, he added.
Tuesday's meeting will highlight the oceans, climate change and resource management, from tuna fisheries to deep seabed mining.
A Chinese delegation will also be at the dialogue session to discuss ways of expanding cooperation with the PIF member states.
