Port Vila, Vanuatu, 18 August 2026 – The Director-General of the Pacific Community (SPC), Dr Paula Vivili, paid a courtesy visit to the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat in Port Vila, where he was welcomed by MSG Director General Dr Anna Naupa. DG Vivili was accompanied by SPC Director Melanesia Ms Sarah Mecartney, and senior staff from the human rights, social, climate change and statistics divisions.
The DGs reaffirmed the longstanding partnership between SPC and the MSG Secretariat and discussed areas of continued collaboration in addressing Melanesian countries’ development priorities. They agreed to strengthen support to their shared membership through coordinated programmes, technical cooperation, capacity building, and knowledge sharing.
Dr Naupa welcomed the visit and highlighted the importance of maintaining strong partnerships with regional organisations to advance shared priorities and strengthen regional cooperation.
The discussions reflected the close collaboration between MSG and SPC under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2018 and its subsequent amendment in 2025, which expanded areas of cooperation to include climate and planetary health, communications and digital technologies, culture and young people, fisheries, food systems, gender equity and human rights, and oceans. The partnership also aligns with the MSG 2038 Prosperity for All Plan, SPC Strategic Plan 2022–2031, and the 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continent.
The MSG Secretariat values its partnership with SPC and looks forward to further strengthening cooperation in areas of mutual interest for the benefit of Melanesian countries and the broader Pacific region.
