From 2-4 June, financial inclusion leaders and regulators are gathering in Santo, Vanuatu, for the 2026 Pacific Islands Regional Initiative (PIRI) Meetings. Co-hosted by the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV), the meeting is bringing together nine leaders and 14 technical representatives from AFI member institutions.

Participants are exploring opportunities to strengthen regional cooperation in areas including financial capability, digital financial services, inclusive green finance, SupTech, consumer protection, customer fund safeguarding, and broader financial sector resilience. PIRI members are also discussing a proposed Pacific Financial Literacy Week, designed to raise public awareness and accelerate efforts to improve financial behavior.

“Financial capability is the pivot that connects trust to resilience,” said the Hon. Johnny Koanapo Rassou, Vanuatu’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance & Economic Management. “By making sure markets operate under clear rules and carry out innovation responsibly, markets can thrive. And by providing financing to MSMEs and addressing climate resilience, we can convert uncertainty into opportunities.”

“While price stability and financial sector stability continue to be our core mandate, we must not lose sight of our joint effort in ensuring sound and proper financial health for our fellow citizens in the region,” said August Letlet, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.

“Despite our unique challenges, within the Pacific we are capable of developing practical and globally relevant policy approaches that respond directly to the needs of our people and communities,” said Dr. Eliki Boletawa, AFI’s Director of Policy Programs and Implementation. “But as always, the real value of this work lies not only in the ideas we develop, but in our ability to implement them effectively and collectively.”

AFI’s Pacific Islands Regional Initiative, which is chaired by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga, promotes smart policy development through peer learning, collaboration, and shared infrastructure development, with the aim of extending financial inclusion to all underserved communities.

The outcomes of this week’s meeting will lay the groundwork for the upcoming 2026 AFI Global Policy Forum in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, during which lessons from the Pacific region’s experiences in financial inclusion will be shared with an international audience.