Overview
- Israel confirmed on Wednesday that Forum leaders accepted its request to join as a sector partner, a decision that was communicated after the leaders' meeting in Palau last month.
- The partnership will operate through the Forum's new Sectoral Partnership Stream and will focus on water management, desalination, agriculture and climate-change adaptation.
- Israel's announcement coincided with visits by MASHAV, Israel's international aid agency, and follows recent bilateral steps by Pacific states, including embassies opened in Jerusalem by Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Nauru and Samoa's plan to do the same.
- The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has not yet issued a full formal statement, and the next steps include negotiating a partnership agreement that sets shared priorities and metrics and operationalizing Israel's participation.
- The decision comes as the Forum has reformed how it handles outside partners and counts more than two dozen external development partners, a change that raises diplomatic questions for members and could affect the level and format of Israel's future participation in Forum meetings.