Indo-Pacific Explainer: Pacific Islands Forum

The Pacific Islands Forum (formerly the South Pacific Forum) is an annual meeting of government leaders from 18 countries. It is the Pacific’s key political and economic policy organisation.

The PIF was established in 1971 to enhance regional cooperation and has served as an important platform for Pacific islands to collectively assert their voice on the global stage. PIF has no formal constitution and decisions are made by consensus. The Forum is, however, guided by the 2014 Framework for Pacific Regionalism, which sets out a vision for deeper regional integration and strategies to achieve it.