Papua New Guinea's prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, has called on Melanesian countries to prove again that they don't form what some observers have described as the arc of instability.
Sir Michael made the call in Goroka at the opening of the meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group which was formed 19 years ago.
He says MSG countries should disprove again the doomsayers who characterize some countries as failed or weak states.
Sir Michael says when they first mooted the idea of cooperation among Melanesian States, not many people took them seriously.
He says the grouping is still in existence and growing strong.
