Final Declaration of the 6th Pacific-France Summit in Nice.

The 6th Pacific-France [1] Summit was held on 10 June 2025 in Nice, in the presence of Pacific Leaders and the President of the French Republic.

We, the Heads of State, Government, Territories or Representatives of France, Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna, in the presence of representatives of regional organisations and the European Union, reaffirm our commitment to work towards a resilient Pacific region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, that ensures all Pacific peoples can lead free, healthy and productive lives.  

1. We reiterate our shared commitment to multilateralism, international law and rules-based international order grounded in equity, inclusivity, and the principles of the UN Charter and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We recognise the fundamental importance of enhanced cooperation based on these values and principles to meet the defining challenges of our time, and, foremost amongst them, the climate crisis, which Pacific Leaders have recognised as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of Pacific peoples.
    
2. We reaffirm that global climate action must be rapid, sustained, and transformative, aligned with a 1.5 °C and must prioritise the needs of those affected. In this regard we urge all Parties to the Paris Agreement, particularly major emitters, to submit by September 2025 enhanced, and 1.5°C-aligned Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) covering all greenhouse gases and all sectors, that adequately respond to the outcomes of the First Global Stocktake including the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems,  and are informed by the best available science.
    
3. We recognise the life-sustaining connection between the Ocean and the climate, and we underscore the risk posed to ocean health by the rapid advance toward ocean tipping points, such as coral reef collapse and potential collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and we urge all countries to focus individual and collective action to prevent near-term warming by addressing short lived climate pollutants, in particular methane emissions. We further underscore the harm of increased ocean acidification as a threatening climate impact on the ocean.
    
4. We support Australia’s candidature to host the UNFCCC COP31 in partnership with the Pacific in 2026. The experience of the Pacific countries can help to bring together the perspectives of all actors and strengthen our common commitment to the preservation and protection of the planet.
    
5. We recognise the crucial work of the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP), including the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat, the Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the University of the South Pacific (USP) for development and regional cooperation among all its members and partners. We also commend the emerging importance of the coordination role of Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC) in the ocean agenda in the global, regional and national level, and call on all members and partners to continue to support OPOC in this effort.
    
6. We reaffirm our commitment to the unity of the Pacific region and to deepening regional cooperation grounded in the values and priorities of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and welcome the long-standing partnership between the Pacific Islands region with France and the European Union particularly in their roles as dialogue partners of the Pacific Islands Forum. In this regard, we underscore the importance of ensuring all partnerships are inclusive, transparent and aligned with regional processes, including the ongoing Review of the Regional Architecture. We acknowledge France’s enhanced commitment and presence in the region, as announced in July 2023, in particular for security training, resilience to climate change, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, regional connectivity, people to people exchanges and sustainable and solidarity-based investments. We particularly welcome the significant increase in the budget allocated to the region by France and the French Development Agency and encourage further alignment of such support with regional frameworks including the Pacific Roadmap for Economic Development. We welcome France’s leadership in the speedy implementation of the EU-OACPS Partnership Agreement, the Samoa Agreement.
    
7. The fight against climate change and the adaptation of populations to this threat are priorities shared by all the participants in the Summit. We reaffirm our collective global commitment to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the climate, while recognising the disproportionate vulnerabilities and extreme risks faced by Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS). We reaffirm the importance of a vulnerability-based approach to development financing, welcome the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, recognising it as a tool to better reflect the unique challenges and structural vulnerabilities faced by Pacific SIDS and to ensure fairer access to concessional finance, while supporting sustainable economic development opportunities. We emphasise the critical importance of resilience building efforts that are locally led, inclusive, and grounded in science and traditional knowledge and practices. In this regard, we welcome France’s continued support through the multi-donor KIWA Initiative, which involves projects with some of the Members in the region relying on nature-based solutions. We further acknowledge the value of all climate finance initiatives, including the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage Response and strongly support the Pacific-led development and resourcing of the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), as a vital regional mechanism to deliver timely, accessible, and targeted financing for community-level resilience. Pacific Leaders acknowledged and welcomed France’s pledge of EUR2 million towards the capitalisation of the PRF.  
    
8. Following up on the adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal at COP29, we further call on all partners to work with the Pacific to unlock sustained, predictable, and accessible climate finance and to support efforts to ease the debt burdens constraining development and resilience ahead of and after UNFCCC COP30 to seek to close the global climate finance gap and operationalise all climate finance vertical funds.
    
9. We welcome the outcomes of the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) and its ambitious objectives while recognising the sustainable development needs of Small Island Developing States, including as set out in the Nice Ocean Action Agenda, and reaffirm that ocean health is inseparable from climate action. The preservation of biodiversity is a goal shared by all the participants in this Summit and we are pleased to see the announcement of new Marine Protected Areas, thus pursuing one of the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to protect 30% of the land and 30% of the Ocean by 2030. We welcome the major contribution of the Pacific, to the achievement of this objective. We acknowledge as well the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity (UBPP) initiative, as one of the Pacific-led regional contributions to the protection of the Ocean. We are determined to ratify as soon as possible the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (the so-called “BBNJ Agreement”) and call on all States to do the same, and to work together towards the full and effective implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. 
    
10. We will not be able to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14 without adequate investment and integrating the recommendations of the scientific community into public policies and we therefore welcome the place given to science in Nice during UNOC3, in particular through support for broad ocean science initiatives such as ocean exploration. We also recognise that Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the Pacific possess detailed traditional and local knowledge about the environment and acknowledge the importance of integrating traditional knowledge and scientific research and policy to achieve effective and sustainable ecosystem and ocean management outcomes to support SDG14.
     
11. We reaffirm our commitment to continued cooperation to address sea-level rise related to climate change and its consequences. We recognise the ongoing work of the United Nations General Assembly to address sea-level rise and welcome the leading role of small island developing States (SIDS) in drawing attention to and aiming to address sea-level rise. We welcome the adoption of the 2021 Pacific Islands Forum Declaration on the Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change Related Sea-Level Rise and the 2023 Pacific Islands Forum Declaration on the Continuity of Statehood and the Protection of Persons in the Face of Climate Change Related Sea-Level Rise. We recall the 2021 Alliance of Small Island States Declaration, and the 2024 Alliance of Small Island States Leaders Declaration on Sea-level Rise and Statehood; and we welcome the work of the International Law Commission on the topic of “Sea-level Rise in relation to International Law” and encourage States to exchange views on the different aspects of this theme.
     
12. The launch of a coalition for the resilience of coastal cities and regions in the face of rising sea levels underscores the importance of collaborative and inclusive action, particularly between the peoples of the Pacific for whom climate change and sea-level rise is not only visible but is the defining issue that imperils the livelihoods and wellbeing of Pacific peoples and undermines the full realisation of a peaceful, secure and sustainable future for the Pacific region. We acknowledge the leadership of Pacific Islands countries in championing international recognition of sea-level rise as a security, development, and legal issue, and we call for the mobilisation of sustainable multilateral and private funding to support locally led adaptation to the challenge of sea-level rise and disasters in our region.
     
13. The just and equitable decarbonisation of international maritime transport is an essential aspect of the fight against climate change. In this regard we welcome the adoption of the 2023 International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Strategy on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships at the IMO, which sets an enhanced common ambition to reach net-zero Green House Gas emissions from international shipping by or around, i.e., close to 2050, with indicative checkpoints for 2030 and 2040.
     
14. Recognising that plastic pollution poses a serious threat to the Pacific Ocean and the disproportionate effects it has on small island developing States, we affirm our resolve to work together to reach a robust, comprehensive agreement that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, during the INC negotiations in Geneva in August 2025 and agree to support the implementation of a Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution, recognising its crucial importance for the health of our planet and the preservation of the Ocean, as well as for human health.
     
15. We recognise the importance of the sustainable ocean economy in all its forms to the livelihoods of all Pacific peoples particularly women, persons with disabilities, young people and the elderly, and as a vital source of income, employment and economic potential in particular for the Pacific.
     
16. We further affirm our resolve to address our commitments under the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty and the Convention for the Protection of Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region and related Protocols and engage to address the risks to conservation and sustainable use of the Ocean.
     
17. Protecting forests to mitigate carbon impact is a global priority as is protecting the Ocean, and we welcome the action of Papua New Guinea, France, the European Union and support from Australia, to develop a country platform to finance complementary projects to protect the tropical rainforest ecosystems in Papua New Guinea recognising its vital role in supporting the overall regional conservation and climate resilience efforts for the Pacific region.
     
18. We express our concern at the increase in the frequency and intensity of disasters linked to climate change and underline the increased vulnerability of Pacific States to these. The cooperation between France, Australia and New Zealand through the FRANZ mechanism is a valuable support for the emergency humanitarian and disaster relief with more than 40 emergency aid operations carried out in the more than 30 years of existence In the field of prevention and preparedness for disasters, we support the efforts made at the regional level by the Pacific Humanitarian Warehousing Program (PHWP) and the Pacific Island Emergency Management Alliance (PIEMA). We recognise the importance of the action of civil society for the emergency humanitarian response, in particular that carried out by the Pacific Ocean Regional Response Platform (PIROPS) of the French Red Cross. We welcome the assistance provided by France through its emergency response to Pacific Islands Countries during and after a disaster.
     
19. We also underline the importance of anticipation to deal with disasters, particularly through the establishment of early warning systems and recall in this regard the role of initiatives such as Climate Risks and Early Warning Systems (CREWS), Risk Informed early Action Partnership (REAP), Systematic Observation Financing Facility (SOFF), and Weather Ready Pacific, that improve disaster risk reduction capacities throughout the region.
     
20. Reaffirming that no country should have to choose between tackling climate change and fighting poverty, we acknowledge the Pact for Prosperity, People and the Planet (4Ps) and recognise its community’s efforts to reform the international financial architecture in line with regionally endorsed frameworks and priorities.
     
21. We commit ourselves to the implementation of regional Pacific-led security arrangements as framed through the Boe Declaration Action Plan, including the Pacific Policing Initiative and the PIF Regional Transnational Organised Crime Disruption Strategy.  We acknowledge the value and recent successes of regional law enforcement cooperation, such as the Pacific Transnational Crime Network, in addressing transnational and serious organised crime such as drug trafficking. We recognise the complementarity of the French Pacific Academy to that endeavour.
     
22. We stress our commitment to the sovereignty of all States and to respect the exercise of their rights, including in their Exclusive Economic Zone. We acknowledge the work towards the settlement of outstanding maritime boundaries in the Pacific region. We welcome the maritime operations coordinated with the FFA to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and express our appreciation for France’s participation in these maritime operations and for the possibility for Pacific Island States to have their officers on board French vessels in order to carry out these sovereign missions. We reaffirm our concerns regarding overfishing and over-capacity by large industrialised distant water fishing vessels in the Pacific. 
     
23. We identify structural connectivity challenges in the Pacific region and wish to increase our cooperation in this area, particularly with regard to submarine cables, port networks and air links. We recall in particular France’s contribution to the greening of the Port of Rabaul via the French Development Agency alongside the European Union. We stress the importance of improving the security of port infrastructures and call for the extension of the European Union’s project “Global Port Safety” to the Pacific for its next phase of implementation.
     
24. We reaffirm the specificity of Oceanian cultures and the urgent need to preserve them, whether it is their plurilingualism, their traditions or their cultural and artistic heritage, and welcome the initiative of France to create an Oceanian Audiovisual Support Programme within the SPC, which aims both to preserve the region’s audiovisual archives and to stimulate film and audiovisual creation in the Pacific.
     
25. We recognise the irreplaceable value of people to people exchanges in the Pacific and stress our ambition to develop these exchanges in particular for students and researchers, we share the objective of strengthening these exchanges between USP and universities of Pacific island states and welcome France’s support for a mobility and intraregional cooperation programme involving in particular the Pacific Islands Universities Research Network (PIURN), the universities of New Caledonia and French Polynesia and research organisations such as IRD and CIRAD.
     
26. We welcome the hosting of the Pacific Games in French Polynesia in 2027, which will highlight the spirit of sport, unity and our shared values that bring us together as one Blue Pacific Continent and as a continuation of the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 and the surfing competition in Teahupoo.
     
27. We reaffirm as a priority the full regional integration of French territories in the Pacific through development of cooperation between these territories and Forum Island Countries on relevant sectors to be supported by France through the Pacific Fund.
     
28. We affirm the role of the Pacific region as stewards of the vast and diverse Pacific Ocean, highlighting the link between ocean health, livelihoods, and regional security. We reaffirm the commitment to enhancing the conservation, sustainable use, and governance of marine biodiversity while ensuring economic development doesn't harm Pacific ecosystems. As stewards of the Blue Pacific, we are committed to strengthening ocean management, use, and conservation through enhanced partnerships for a resilient and sustainable future for the peoples of the Blue Pacific Continent.
     
29. We affirm the region’s commitment to supporting a peaceful, inclusive and transparent process in New Caledonia, through ongoing dialogue that reflects the aspirations of all communities. The High-Level Forum Troika Plus Mission to New Caledonia in October 2024 exemplifies this commitment to transparent dialogue. We acknowledge the support and engagement of the French State and the Government of New Caledonia during the Mission, and commend the commitment of Forum Leaders in supporting the French State and the Government of New Caledonia in promoting peace, stability and dialogue.
     
30. We look forward to strengthening our exchanges on a regular basis We affirm the value of France’s engagement with the Pacific Islands Forum membership as one Blue Pacific.
     
31. This declaration is made in respect of the competences of the respective governments.
     

[1] Formerly known as the France - Oceania Summit.