Photo: AFP. Retrieved from rnz.co.nz

Excerpt from rnz.co.nz

The new secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum, Baron Waqa, has started his tenure.

Waqa, a former Nauru president, is the first Nauruan national to assume the region’s top diplomatic role based in Suva.

He has been heavily criticised for his treatment of refugees, and other issues.

Forum chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and he and other regional leaders look forward to working with the new secretary general.

“It is a great honour to have Secretary General Waqa at the helm of our Secretariat,” Brown said in a statement.

“I and indeed all Leaders, look forward to working with him to progress the priorities of our region in line with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, for the benefit of the Pacific peoples.”