The Pacific Islands Forum plans to send an official on a fact finding mission to French Polynesia, to see if it can help end the political crisis there.
It follows calls for the Forum to take a lead in trying to resolve a stalemate in which two rival administrations are claiming power, a move that has stalled government functions and sparked fears of violence.
Secretary General, Greg Urwin, speaking from Noumea, says the Forum asked French authorities if it could send a fact finding mission, which could then report back to the regions' leaders on what they might be able to do.
"it is my understanding from Suva that French authorities have agreed to such a visit and that our people in Suva are now working out exactly how soon it might happen and the kinds of people we might see"
