PORT MORESBY, Oct. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is holding its 36th annual summit meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from Tuesday to Saturday to consider the final draft of the Pacific Plan on regional cooperation and give further direction to Forum mandates in political, economic, trade and social issues.

    The PIF (known until Oct. 27, 2000 as the South Pacific Forum),a key political organization in the Pacific, brings at an annual meeting the 16 heads of government of the independent and self-governing states in the Pacific.

    The first PIF meeting was held in 1971 in Wellington, New Zealand. The seven founding members -- Australia, the Cook Islands,Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, Tonga and Western Samoa (now Samoa) -- attended the meeting. The meeting was stemmed from a desire by leaders to address common issues from a regional perspective and to give their collective views greater weight in the international community.

    The founding member countries have since been joined by Niue, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Vannuatu Solomon Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated State of Micronesia and Palau.

    As the political mandate of the Forum has been apparent since the beginning, the Forum meetings have focused on regional trade and economic issues while good governance and security have more recently become part of the Forum's agenda.

    Forum leaders of government meet annually in formal session, including a Leaders' Retreat which provides an opportunity for private and frank discussions at the highest level. The heads of government meeting is preceded by a meeting of the Forum Officials Committee which reports to leaders on regional issues.

    The Forum is chaired usually on an annual rotating basis by thehead of the host government, although there is flexibility for members to host the meeting in conjunction with a significant national event or occasion. Papua New Guinea hosts the 36th Forum in coinciding with its 30th anniversary of independence.

    At the 35th Forum, the leaders of the group agreed to key recommendations for study on regional transport, and to terms of reference to develop a Pacific Plan to strengthen links between island countries. They also decided to start work for practical action to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of regional airand shipping services. Enditem