SUVA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Tonga held on Tuesday a UN regional meeting for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific region to review progress in implementing the SAMOA Pathway, the dedicated program of action for SIDS.

According to Matangi Tonga Online, Tonga's leading news website, speaking at the opening of the meeting in Tonga's capital city of Nuku'alofa, Tonga's Prime Minister Samuela 'Akilisi Pohiva said that the meeting was at a critical juncture in terms of their common interests in the sustainable development of their islands.

It was the 5th year since the world came together in Samoa in 2014 and endorsed the SAMOA Pathway, it is critical that people recalled the mandate of that conference, he said.

Fekitamoeloa Katoa 'Utoikamanu, high representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, said that the meeting helps to chart the future direction of sustainable development for the island nations in the region and Tonga has played a critical role in this process.

The three-day meeting, which ends on Thursday, will discuss achievements, challenges and gaps in the first five years of implementing the SAMOA Pathway. Participants are expected to agree on an outcome for accelerating implementation in the region.