Fifteen Pacific Island leaders and thousands of Marshall Islanders, including dozens of schoolchildren, have turned out in the capital of Majuro overnight for the opening of the 44th Pacific Islands Forum.
Running an hour behind schedule - as the forums tend to do - the opening ceremony, on the grounds of the massive Capital Building, stretched on into Tuesday night, with singing, dancing and speeches.
New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key and Australian Senator Jacinta Collins, Minister for Mental Health and Ageing were among the hundreds of guests in the courtyard.
The leaders received an anointing and blessing, where they were presented with woven straw neckpieces, and witnessed a rare performance by a Jobwa group from Kwajalein Atoll, more than 500 kilometres northeast of Majuro.
The stick dance, performed by about 24 dancers in traditional costumes, can only be performed with the permission of a high chief, and only in their presence.
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On Wednesday, the leaders, along with officials, will attend a plenary session where they'll discuss Pacific issues and policy, including this year's climate change theme.
Most of the serious discussions though will take place on Thursday at a leader's retreat on nearby Eneko Island. The issue of Fiji - suspended from the forum until it holds democratic elections, set down for next year - will also be on the table, amid pressure from some countries for its readmission.
On Friday, observing countries including China and the US will join a post-forum dialogue with the forum members.
One key issue could be the ongoing fallout in the Marshall Islands from 12 years of nuclear tests by the US, ending in 1958.
The US - which administered the Marshalls from WWII until 1986 - has paid out more than $US600 million ($A671.03 million) in compensation, but the Marshalls says it has failed to meet its full obligations.
