The UK has resident diplomatic missions in six Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and we are also non-resident accredited to six additional PICs. The UK is committed to working with PICs to support their priorities, as set out in the Pacific Islands Forum's 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. The UK is supporting PICs in areas such as regional security, economic resilience and growth and tackling the climate and nature crisis. Examples include: improving and enhancing regional maritime security; strengthening preparedness, response and resilience to humanitarian crises; and investment into PICs through multilateral and other funds to achieve better infrastructure and development outcomes.

We acknowledge that sea level rise poses challenges with respect to the stability of maritime boundaries and we recognise that this is a significant concern for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other coastal countries including the UK. We have taken careful note of the Pacific Islands Forum declaration on this topic and are considering it in detail. The UK acknowledges that this is a matter of considerable importance to (SIDS) who are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. We continue to work with SIDS to drive global ambition of emissions reductions, and support adaptation and resilience in SIDS including through accessing finance. The UK Government has a number of programmes which will support SIDS and which aim to strengthen resilience against climate change, such as the global £500 million Blue Planet Fund.

Overall figures of government spend are regularly published as part of transparency releases. These figures could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests. Value for money is taken into account in all travel decisions.

During the United Nations General Assembly week in September 2022, the Foreign Secretary met with the Government representatives of Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu as part of a 'Partners in the Blue Pacific' meeting. The Minister for Asia, Lord Goldsmith, also met with the Prime Minister of Samoa.

The Prime Minister also met the President of Vanuatu at COP27 and I discussed climate change with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Vanuatu and with Pacific Ministers at the Pacific Community conference, during my visit to Port Vila, November 2022.

Pacific Island Countries (PICs), as Small Island Developing States (SIDs), are amongst the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. At COP27 the UK reaffirmed commitment to the Glasgow Climate Pact, and will continue to work closely with Pacific Island Countries to reform the international architecture to improve SIDs access to finance. In November 2021, we announced the 'Small Island Developing States Adaptation and Resilience' Programme, which will help SIDs draw down climate and wider concessional finding.

In November, the Minister for Indo-Pacific attended the 12th Pacific Community Ministerial conference, and expressed support for the Pacific Island Forum's recently launched 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continent.