The Pacific Islands Forum was formerly known as the South Pacific Forum until a name change in October 2000 to better reflect the geographic location of its members in the north and south Pacific.
The Pacific Islands Forum was founded in August 1971 and comprises 16 independent and self-governing states in the Pacific.
Tuiloma Neroni Slade of Samoa is the current Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
Forum Members are Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The founding Members of the Pacific Islands Forum were Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, Tonga and Western Samoa (now Samoa).
The Forum's administrative arm is the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, based in Suva, Fiji. The Secretariat is funded by contributions from Member governments and donors with a total budget of $33 million in 2009.
The Forum Secretariat’s governing body is the Forum Officials Committee (FOC) which meets at least annually before the Leaders’ Forum.
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is mandated to coordinate the implementation of the Pacific Plan for strengthening regional cooperation and integration.
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, based in Suva, Fiji, also has Trade Offices in Auckland, Beijing, Sydney, and Tokyo.
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, based in Suva, Fiji, has desk officers in the Small Island States (SIS) of Cook Islands, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, and Tuvalu to complement the resources of its smallest Members.
The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is an international organisation established by treaty, enjoying legal personality in each of its sixteen member countries.
The Secretary General of the Forum Secretariat is also Chair of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP).
