The 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting hosted a side event on “Unpacking Resilience: Strengthening Systems, Capacities and Practical Solutions” in Honiara on Thursday.
Minister for National Planning and Development Coordination, Hon. Rexon Annex Ramofafia addressed the gathering.
The event was attended by officials and delegates from PIF member countries, currently converging in Solomon Islands for the largest gathering of Pacific Leaders.
Hon. Ramofafia emphasized the importance of embedding resilience into governance systems, particularly through policy, public financial management, planning, and budgeting.
“Resilience must be made a core principle of governance,” Minister Ramofafia said. “We are sending the message of proactiveness to our people and helping to influence behavior and improve proactive readiness to the vulnerabilities that we face.”
The Minister highlighted the progress made by Pacific countries, including Solomon Islands and Tonga, in aligning public financial management reforms with climate change and disaster risk priorities.
“Climate and disaster risk financing must pivot towards tangible on-the-ground investments that improve adaptive capacity, protect lives, safeguard livelihoods and development gains, and create pathways for prosperity,” he emphasized.
“We must finance resilience not just in theory but in concrete, steel, and livelihoods,” Minister Ramofafia added.
Minister Ramofafia highlighted that as part of Solomon Islands and Tonga’s efforts to strengthen public sector budgeting, “we have embarked on climate budget reforms to make our spending more transparent and to enable policymakers to clearly determine how much we invest in addressing climate risks”.
These budget reforms are anchored in the broader Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform Roadmaps, which guide improvements in fiscal governance by promoting performance orientation and inclusive planning for better service delivery.
Taken together, these reforms are critical for strengthening resilience and building public trust.
The event aimed to facilitate peer learning and exchange on strengthening resilience and risk-informed development, with a focus on practical solutions and regional cooperation.
The Pacific Resilience Facility, which was signed by Leaders yesterday, was also discussed as a key mechanism for leveraging climate and disaster risk financing.
– Govt Com Unit
