2013-03-06 19:45:37 -

(LONDON – 5 March 2013) – The Fijian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Mr. Solo Mara, spoke yesterday of the contested concept of security and what it means for development and partnership in the Asia-Pacific.

Mr. Mara was the second high-level diplomat to speak in the inaugural Pacific ambassador series presented by the Pacific Islands Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). His remarks focused on non-traditional security issues, primarily climate change and the existential threat it poses to the region.

According to the society’s vice-president, Ms. Keiko Ono, “Mr. Mara’s remarks were honest and sincere, and it was an incredibly engaging discussion on the contemporary issues facing the region. As an Islander, I can relate

to these, yet, also, they re-enforce the need for greater recognition of the region’s security issues as global issues worthy of much broader discussion."

The 2013 Ambassador Speaking Series will continue over the next three months with ambassadors and high commissioners from the Pacific region and neighboring powers addressing international and regional security for the Pacific Islands.

The next event in the series will be a talk by the Honorary Consul to Kiribati, Mr. Michael Walsh. The event will take place Monday, March 11, at 7:15pm. The event will be held in the SOAS Main Building in Russell Square, London.

All events in the series are free and open to the public-- although priority will be given to students and faculty of U.K. universities.

About the Pacific Islands Society at SOAS: The Pacific Islands Society is a registered society of the SOAS Student Union. The society aims to increase student and faculty awareness of the importance of Pacific affairs within the SOAS community and the broader U.K. higher education system.

For more information on the 2013 Ambassador Speaking Series:
Visit our website: www.pacificislandssociety.org
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PacificIslandsSociety
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/PacificSociety