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The sixteenth meeting of the Forum Economic Ministers was held in Tarawa, Kiribati on 3 and 4 July, 2012. 2. The following countries were represented: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Observer representatives were from the Asian Development Bank, Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, International Monetary Fund, Oceania Customs Organisation, Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre, Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, South Pacific Tourism Organisation, United Nations Development Programme, University of the South Pacific, and the World Bank Group.

The care of the ocean is the responsibility of all people. The Oceans are interconnected and interdependent. covering some seventy per cent of the world's surface. They are the last great frontier and their conservation and sustainable use is vital to the well being and survial of the human race. Pacific Island communities inhabit the islands scattered throughout an Ocean across which some of the most inspiring migrations in human history have taken place, over many thousands of years. The Ocean unites Pacific Island communities more than anything else. It has supported generations of Pacific Island communities - not only as a medium for transport but also as a source of food, tradition and culture.