The Kingdom Of Tonga: New Opportunities In The Heart Of The Pacific

The Kingdom Of Tonga: New Opportunities In The Heart Of The Pacific
Breakfast Discussion

Agenda

The Kingdom of Tonga is a stable, secure, educated, English-speaking, independent country that can be reached in around three hour or less from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, and about half-a-dozen other countries. Tonga has been a constitutional monarchy for more than 130 years, and has recently peacefully transitioned into full Parliamentary democracy. It is also about to be hooked up to a global fiber optic network, and holds an influential position regionally as the last Polynesian Kingdom. Tonga is now ready, eager, and able to lead in the increasingly important Pacific region, and to engage even more globally.

Tonga's ground-breaking Tonga Energy Road Map (which aims to shift the country to 50% renewable energy by 2020) has proven its professionalism, discretion, ability to innovate, and willingness to make big decisions. As a result of its proven leadership abilities, in the field of renewable energy alone, Tonga is on the council of IRENA, is a founding member of the German Government's Renewables Club, and is a key UAE partner in Pacific engagement. This talk will outline how the Kingdom of Tonga, and the Southern Pacific as a whole, is changing, especially at a time when world focus is shifting to the Asia-Pacific, as well as outline some of the opportunities of these new dynamics.

Speaker

Lord Prime Minister Tu'ivakanô is the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga to be directly chosen by Parliament, rather than by the King. Educated in Tonga, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, Lord Prime Minister Tu'ivakanô was an educator and sportsman before joining politics. He has been President of the Tonga National Rugby League, Tonga Sumo Association, Tonga National Taekwando Association and Vice President of the Tongan National Olympic Committee. Apart from being Prime Minister, he also holds the Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Informations and Communications portfolios.