May 2022

With the travel restrictions imposed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic being progressively withdrawn, the opportunity to trade Zoom calls for in-person meetings was taken by PCRIC’s Finance and Investment consultants, who were in Fiji last week from Auckland for a series of meetings with PCRIC CEO Mr. Aholotu Palu in Suva.

For Pacific nations, climate change is not a hypothetical future event — it's already happening, with relocations and legal measures to protect sovereignty already underway.

With scheduled arrangements concluded, whilst preparing for his departure to Fiji Mr. Palu was unexpectedly invited to an audience with Her Majesty Queen Nanasipauʻu. This provided a welcome opportunity to explain the regional role of PCRIC in the disaster risk management sphere, and hear from Her Majesty of a proposal to establish some form of charitable entity aimed at helping those Tongan people whose generational homes and communities were decimated by the January tsunami.  

Last week, the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) CEO Mr. Aholotu Palu met with the Prime Minister of Tonga, Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni. The two discussed the country’s current disaster risk policy along with future opportunities for Tonga to pool their risks with other forum countries.

In a first for the Pacific region, a disaster risk finance (DRF) symposium was held in collaboration between the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Pacific Resilience Partnership DRF Technical Working Group with the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) being a key partner.