The 7th Pacific Urban Forum (PUF7) was convened in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG), hosted by the Government and the Port Moresby National Capital District Commission. The Forum was organised in collaboration with the Pacific Urban Partnership, chaired by UN-Habitat and of which CLGF Pacific is a leading member.  

This was the largest PUF to date, bringing together more than 120 national and local leaders/mayors, including eight ministers (PNG, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu), senior officials, representatives from professional organisations, universities, the private sector, civil society and development partners from across the region and beyond.  

Photo credit: © Caza Electrotek, 2026

CLGF was delighted to support a delegation of mayors and ministry representatives from the Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands, alongside regional and HQ staff. It was also an opportunity for bilateral meetings with members and partners, including CLGF Board Member Hon Harry Tekaiti, Minister of Culture and Internal Affairs, Kiribati and his team.  

The PUF was opened by the Prime Minister of PNG, Hon James Marape. Discussions in plenary, panel and working groups focused on adequate housing, informal settlement upgrading, customary land ownership, basic services, governance and climate change/resilience. Supporting the exchanges on local practices and actionable solutions, CLGF successfully:  

• Convened a Mayors’ Roundtable in partnership with ICLEI Oceania,  

• Facilitated a working group session to share the lessons learned from the recently completed Blue Green Economy project with partners from the Kiribati Local Government Association and ICLEI 

• Supported a dedicated session to share the outcomes of the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Coalition project, supported by FCDO (UK).    

Photo credit: © Caza Electrotek, 2026

PUF 7 Key outcomes and future priorities

Photo credit: © Caza Electrotek, 2026

The meeting acknowledged the continued relevance of the recommendations from the PUF6 held in Suva in 2023. Building on that, key priorities for action highlighted in PNG included:  

• Integrating urban resilience with climate action. 

• Strengthening land governance, spatial planning, and housing systems. 

• Upgrading informal settlements and protecting vulnerable communities. 

• Empowering local governments to deliver people‑centred urban development. 

• Building technical capacity and improving access to finance for urban development, including green/climate finance. 

• Enhancing data and evidence to guide policy and delivery. 

• Advancing cross‑sector, multi‑level governance for inclusive outcomes. 

A full report will be released soon, but one key message emerging strongly from the PUF was the need for action on urbanisation at a regional level in the Pacific. Hon. Dr Bobby Bomanero, Minister for Housing, PNG, stated in his presentation:  

“We need to integrate urban issues into Pacific policies and elevate the urban agenda to the level of the PIFS (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat), the highest regional decision-making platform. Regional and global partnerships can then support, with research and methodology, as well as mobilise funds.” 

CLGF Pacific is already actively exploring practical ways in which we can continue to support our members in the region in implementing the outcomes of PUF7.