Small islands suffered the most from high oil prices: Leaders

The rising oil prices have become an urgent issue for the South Pacific small islands and territories with relatively weak economy, said their leaders Monday in Nadi, Fiji.

Leaders of the pacific small island states (SIS) holding their 15th Summit said they've got the immediate concern on this issue, and are appealing for regional regulation and management to cope with the challenges.

SIS leaders also asked the Pacific Island Forum, a key regional political summit, to consider other ways of addressing the issue of high oil price including the possibility of approaching the OPEC countries for more competitive oil prices.

Anote Tong, President of Kiribati, said Monday after the SIS summit that small islands have been burdened gravely by the surging oil prices, though he acknowledged no immediate solution were produced by small islands leaders.

Tong, who chaired a news briefing after the SIS Summit, said labor force mobility amongst South Pacific countries, especially from the developing small nations to Australia and New Zealand should be considered from more practical view.

SIS leaders expressed concerned about the risk of a world pandemic of bird flu. They also sought formal reporting on other services of health matters as HIV/AIDS, non-communicable disease including diabetes and obesity.

The SIS Summit was one of the major meetings of the 37th Pacific Islands Forum held on Oct. 23-25. SIS groups Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, which are also members of the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum.

Source: Xinhua