Israel Announces Pacific Islands Forum Partnership Focused on Water and Agriculture
Israel has been accepted as a partner in the Pacific Islands Forum, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on October 20, opening a framework for cooperation in water management, agriculture, climate adaptation and other development fields.
Sa’ar said Forum Secretary General Baron Divavesi Waqa had informed him that Pacific leaders approved Israel’s request at their meeting in Palau. Israel submitted the application during his visit to Fiji in June, he said.
The arrangement gives Israel a defined channel for engagement with the region. Its scope is sectoral cooperation: New Zealand’s 1News reported on October 21 that Israel would engage at ministerial level, while the Forum’s strategic partners deal directly with its leaders. Partner status does not make Israel a member of the regional grouping.
From a June request to an October announcement
The Forum’s own communiqué dates its leaders’ meeting in Koror, Palau, to August 31 through September 3. It records agreement on assigning partners to two streams, with the secretary general responsible for communicating the decisions.
That document establishes the broader mechanism but does not name Israel in the relevant paragraph. According to 1News, leaders agreed Israel’s sectoral placement at the September meeting, with announcements delayed while countries were advised of their categories.
The distinction matters for the chronology: October 20 was the date of Sa’ar’s public announcement. The available accounts place the leaders’ deliberations earlier, rather than at a new October summit.
Water and farming give the partnership a practical focus
The cooperation fields outlined by Sa’ar include water management, desalination, agriculture, climate change, innovation and sustainable development. He said Israel and the Forum would draw up an action plan and establish a way to monitor its implementation.
A development cooperation briefing in Suva offers an early indication of the work being discussed. PINA/PACNEWS reported on October 20 that Forum representatives met Israeli diplomats to identify regional needs and opportunities for technical assistance and training.
The participants included Waqa, Israeli Ambassador to Fiji and Pacific Island Countries Maya Yaron, and Ambassador Eynat Shlein, head of MASHAV, Israel’s international development cooperation agency. Water security was among the issues raised, the report said.
Yaron emphasized listening to Pacific countries and matching their priorities with suitable expertise. The discussion was about identifying needs and possible assistance; it did not establish that a particular water or agricultural project had already been funded or completed.
The action plan will define the commitments
The Forum communiqué provides for a review of the partnership arrangements after one year and an accountability and reporting framework from 2027. Those provisions concern the wider partnership system, rather than a confirmed starting date for an Israeli project.
The published material reviewed for this report did not set out an Israel-specific budget, contracted projects or delivery schedule. Sa’ar’s proposed action plan is therefore the next document to watch: it should show which priorities become commitments, who will carry them out and how progress will be assessed.
