The Seventh Japan-Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 7) will take place on the theme, 'We are Islanders: Commitment to the Pacific from Iwaki, Fukushima: Building Prosperous Future Together'. The meeting will seek to establish new partnerships, by tackling common challenges in the region including natural disasters and climate change. Preparations for PALM 7 were discussed on 4 March 2015 in Tokyo, Japan, during a pre-PALM Senior Officials' Meeting where senior officials from all member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum and its Secretariat met with counterparts from the Government of Japan. Pacific representatives emphasized key concerns for the region, as well as the important reforms to regional decision-making introduced by the Framework for Pacific Regionalism, which aims to drive regional cooperation and integration, and which they said should constitute an important reference point for the Pacific's engagement with development partners, such as Japan. PALM was initiated by Japan in 1997 and held every three years since then. The last PALM meeting took place in May 2012 in Okinawa.  

dates: 22-23 May 2015  
venue: Spa Resort Hawaiians  
location: Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan  
contact: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan  
phone: +81-(0)3-3580-3311  
www: http://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/ocn/page3e_000281.html
 http://www.forumsec.org/pages.cfm/newsroom/press-statements/2015-media-releases/pacific-officials-prepare-for-leaders-meeting-with-japan.html