MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with high-ranking delegates representing small island nations of the South Pacific on the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The sides held a substantive exchange of views on current international and regional challenges and discussed prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation between Russia and the participating countries in areas of mutual interest, including climate issues, fisheries, shipping and education," the ministry said in a statement.

The participants reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up cooperation across a wide range of areas, the statement reads.