Pacific Islands Forum Chairman Baron Waqa calls criticism of his appointment ‘irrelevant’

Barron Waqa
photo: Pacific Islands Forum

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa Critics Concerns have been raised about his suitability to lead the region’s main economic and political organization.

Waqa begins his term Early June.

He has since then Official visit to Solomon Islands There, he met with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Tonga He met with Prime Minister Huakahuameliku to discuss preparations for the 53rd Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Nuku’alofa.

The former president of Nauru told regional reporters at his first news conference on Monday that “none of these issues” raised by critics are “relevant at this point.”

“Look, this is only one side of the story. But the main issue here is about the forum and how I’m going to run it in accordance with best practices,” he said.

“Let’s all work together and respect each other.”

“The media is very, very important”

Responding to a question about his relationship with the media and how he intends to work with journalists, Waqa said he sees the media as “partners.”

“The media is very, very important to me,” he said.

He said the areas were “largely populated” and geographically dispersed.

“So it’s important that people don’t have access to radio, or even television.”

“We need to understand that this is not good for us, we just haven’t made the decisions, we’ve tried to make it public but nobody’s making them public for us.

“So we hope that there can also be a level of collaboration so that important information and messages can get through to people.”