26 Aug 2023

Anti-climatic ending for the MSG leaders meeting

From , 6:00 am on 26 August 2023
MSG leaders sign the two declarations after their retreat at Havana Boat Shed, North Efate.

MSG leaders sign the two declarations after their retreat at Havana Boat Shed, North Efate. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Kelvin Anthony

The leaders of Fiji, the FLNKS of New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu avoided a definitive update on the status of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua's application for full membership in Port Vila.

However, the 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders' Summit was hailed as the "most memorable and successful" by Vanuatu's prime minister.

The leaders signed off on two new declarations in their efforts to make the sub-region more influential.

But the meeting had an anti-climactic ending after the they failed to release the details about the final outcomes or speak to media.

RNZ Pacific's Finau Fonua reports.