Japan and the Pacific leaders have agreed to work on six key areas including oceans, climate change, peace and security, people-centred development and political leadership as the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10) concluded on Thursday in Tokyo.

After their meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and co-chair Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown PALM10 Joint Action Plan. It was unveiled as a framework for future cooperation, encompassing diverse projects aligned with the 2050 Strategy. 

Under Political Leadership and Regionalism,  the PALM Partners will actively participate in meetings within the regional architecture, such as the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Dialogue Partners Meeting and PALM related meetings, to respect and support the policies and initiatives of the PIF and the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP) agencies, and to promote constructive dialogue and work together to address regional priorities. 

They have agreed that PALM Partners will cooperate with all Partners sharing the objectives based on the region’s priorities, while always respecting regional unity.

For People-Centered Development, the first focus is on health. The PALM Partners have agreed to strengthen cooperation in addressing both communicable and non-communicable diseases, and developing resilient health care system towards achievement of universal health coverage through building medical facilities, provision of quality medical equipment including telemedicine and building capacity by incorporating “KAIZEN” know-how for health and medical workers. 

Under this, education is also a key area Japan has promised to look at. The PALM Partners have agreed to support the implementation of the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF), cooperate in capacity building for the provision of quality basic education services such as through the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) especially in the field of mathematics, improving educational attainment using educational materials for primary education, strengthening primary teacher pre-service training in Mathematics and Science and sharing knowledge of Japan's education experience by education policy advisor.  

For Peace and Security, Japan has agreed to provide its airforce and navy for patrols for better protection of the ocean borders.

They will deliver on the actions outlined in the Pacific Transnational Organised Crime Disruption Strategy 2024-2028, and build capacity in the areas of law and justice, security, and drug control through newly developed Strategic Dialogue on Law and Justice, the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), and the Asia-Pacific Operational Drug Enforcement Conference (ADEC).