Lord Fakafanua led a delegation from the Parliament of Tonga to the Global Parliamentary Forum that was held in Marrakech, Morocco on 9 October 2023. The delegation included Lord Tu’iha’angana (Deputy Speaker of Parliament) and Hon. Dr ‘Aisake Eke (Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts).
The event was hosted by the World Bank, in partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF; and co-hosted by the Moroccan Parliament. The Forum provided a platform for parliamentarians to dialogue with the World Bank and IMF senior leadership on development and key issues related to the global economy. It is an opportunity for lawmakers to exchange best practices to promote a more resilient future; by building political will and support for the poorest and most vulnerable countries impacted by the multiple crises facing the world today.
Lord Fakafanua was invited to join a panel of speakers on the second session of the Forum on “Climate Financing and Transition to a Low-Carbon economy”. The session highlighted the fact that transforming the supply of green development finance remains at the core of modernizing International Financial Institutions – to enable countries to meet both the SDGs and the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Speaker of the Tongan Parliament spoke on Tonga’s progress on its renewable energy commitments, and the contribution of Tonga’s legislature through legislation (Energy Act 2021) passed, as well as the work of its Standing Committee on Environment and Climate Change. Other areas reported from Tonga’s perspective included challenges, opportunities and lessons learned on initiatives in respect of green financing.