Women in Diplomacy share their Experiences
02/12/2025Published On: 03/12/2025
Fiji is represented at the 23rd Pacific Maritime Boundaries Working Session currently taking place in Sydney, Australia from 01 December to 09 December 2025, with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources, the Solicitor General’s Office and the Republic of Fiji Navy.
The twenty-four Pacific Countries and Territories cover 30 percent of the world’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with 48 shared boundaries, 12 of which are currently under negotiations. The Pacific Maritime Boundaries Programme (PSMP), spearheaded by the Pacific Community (SPC), supports Pacific Island Countries and Territories in securing the rights and responsibilities over their ocean space in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Pacific region is leading globally in relation to its maritime boundary delimitation efforts and following the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders’ meeting held in 2021, Pacific Leaders declared their commitment to finalizing the Pacific’s maritime boundaries by 2025. This commitment has been reaffirmed by the Leaders in their most recent Leaders Communique coming out of the 54th PIF Leaders Meeting held in Solomon Islands in September this year.
As a result of the ongoing participation at these working sessions and engagement with SPC and the consortium partners, Fiji has concluded its maritime boundary agreements with the Republic of Tuvalu and the Republic of Solomon Islands and just this year has completed three of its outstanding extended continental shelf submissions for the North Fiji Basin, South Fiji Basin and the Melanesian Borderlands Plateau jointly with Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Negotiations on maritime boundary delimitation are still ongoing with the Republic of Vanuatu and the Kingdom of Tonga.
The finalization of its maritime boundary delimitation with its Pacific neighbours is also a Voluntary Commitment that Fiji made in the first UN Ocean Conference in 2017 and through Maritime Affairs Coordinating Committee (MACC) working progressively towards the finalization of all outstanding maritime boundary delimitation.
This week’s Working Session in Australia has been organized by the Pacific Community (SPC) with the support of a Consortium of partners, including the Government of the United Kingdom, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) and the Attorney-General’s Office, Australia, Geoscience Australia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and experts from the University of Sydney, amongst others.
