The Pacific Islands and the World: The Global Economic Crisis, held in Brisbane on 2 and 3 August, brought together Pacific Island leaders, ministers, officials from international and regional organisations, private sector and civil society representatives, in advance of the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting.

The Pacific Islands region as a whole has weathered the global economic crisis better than many other developing countries to date but the impact of the global recession is still significant.

The conference recommended that the Pacific Island governments should seize the opportunity of the global economic crisis to make fundamental reforms to the way they manage their development planning and do business.