Pacific Islands Development Forum – emergence of the new participant in the Pacific regionalism

Abstract

Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) was formally established through signing of an agreement in 2015. The two previous gatherings were informal and did not bring any legally binding documents. The 3rd summit, entitled “Building Climate Resilient Green Blue Pacific Economies” introduced not only the constituting agreement, being an international treaty, what in turn made PIDF an intergovernmental organization having its own legal personality, but also created the pivot for the new wave of the Pacific regionalism. The regional cooperation among the small island states is being made ineffectively and economically inefficiently due to many reasons. The most relevant of which are the over fragmentation of the existing regional organisations and constant creation of ad hoc institutions which have no personality, powers or sanctions for non-fulfilment of the jointly adapted agreements.