The body reviewing the Pacific's blue print for regional development, the Pacific Plan, says the Pacific Islands Forum itself has to adapt.
The Plan is the key document driving the Forum's activities.
Don Wiseman has more;
"A former Papua New Guinea prime minister, Sir Mekere Morauta, has been leading the review team and says it has found the region's institutions are not coming up with the right answers. Sir Mekere says the region is at a cross roads and had changed significantly since the Plan was drawn up nearly 10 years ago. He says the challenges are greater and there's greater inequality but politically the region is stumbling along. Sir Mekere says rather than just refreshing the Plan what is needed is the re-establishment of a robust political process around regionalism. He says at the moment governance structures don't ensure the right outcomes, while incentives, usually financial, end up shaping the agenda. Sir Mekere says the Forum, as the peak political body in the Pacific, has a huge role, but must adapt. He wants to see the Plan become a framework for advancing the political principle of regionalism through dialogue, the expression of the political values of regionalism and the decisive implementation of game changing economic integration."
