For the first time the 2013 PLG summit will include indigenous Polynesian groups with Maori, Hawaiian, and Rapa Nui leaders invited to participate. This is a move that expands the confines of the group from just independent and self-governing island states to include distinct Polynesian peoples.

The recent breakdown of Vodaphone Fiji’s investment in PNG’s BeMobile is just the most recent in a series of missed opportunities in cross-investment that could not only improve small island economies, but mitigate against some of the worst aspects of large-scale development projects in the Pacific.