Fiji and Australia to host historic Pacific Crime Summit

Fiji and Australia will co-host a Pacific organised crime summit in May next year to tackle criminal cartels exploiting the region.

The announcement was made by Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett during a joint press conference with Fiji Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu at the Fiji Police Academy in Nasese today.

Commissioner Barrett said the summit would mark a turning point in targeting highly organised criminals who are eroding Pacific communities.

“This historic summit in Fiji will be a crucial turning point in how we target highly organised criminals who are eroding our way of life and undermining our sovereignty because of their greed and their indifference to the misery they are causing our communities,” she said.

Scheduled for May 17-22, 2026, the summit will bring together senior and operational law enforcement officers from across the Pacific, along with representatives from Five Eyes law enforcement agencies and international bodies, including Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The summit will address Pacific-focused crimes, including illicit commodities, money laundering, cybercrime, foreign interference, environmental crime, and illegal fishing and logging.

“These well-funded and entrenched criminal cartels and gangs require a strong, united Pacific response to identify, target and disrupt their illicit operating model,” Commissioner Barrett said.

Commissioner Tudravu noted that Pacific nations face unique challenges with limited resources for policing the vast Pacific Ocean.
“As the threat of transnational crime grows in the region, Pacific Police face unique challenges with limited resources,” he said.

“Our approach must be a collective one—that is, by the Pacific, for the Pacific, and that's the only way to have a real impact,” Mr Tudravu added.

The summit will leverage world-leading intelligence, capability, and technology to make communities across Fiji, Australia, and the Pacific safer.

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