SYDNEY – New Zealand is urging disaffected Micronesian members of the Pacific Islands Forum not to quit the organization. A bitter leadership dispute has split the region’s main political and economic body.
Speaking in the New Zealand capital, Wellington, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision by Micronesian nations to leave the regional forum was regrettable. Australia, too, has urged the parties to settle differences.
Founded in 1971, it has 18 members, including Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. Experts believe that Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Nauru feel overlooked by larger Melanesian members like Papua New…