Pacific Islands Forum

Association of states in the region to discuss common interests and develop common policies, created in 1971 as an offshoot of the South Pacific Commission, now the Pacific Community. Its 26 member countries include Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, with New Caledonia an observer since 1999.

In 1985 the forum adopted the Rarotonga Treaty for creating a nuclear-free zone in the Pacific. In 1995 France was temporarily suspended as a dialogue partner because of its resumption of nuclear tests. This suspension was lifted in 1996, when the UK, France, and the USA endorsed the treaty.

Recent meetings have discussed the possibility of forming a free-trade area in the region.