RNZ PacificThe number of leaders attending the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Suva, Fiji, has dropped further, with both the president of the Marshall Islands and the Cook Islands prime minister pulling out. It was revealed at the weekend that Kiribati President Taneti Maamau was not attending the gathering, and his nation had formally withdrawn from the forum. Now, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has also pulled out, saying he wants to focus on his country’s election, which is to be held in three weeks. And Marshall Islands President David Kabua has said he would have attended the summit, but was not able to because of a legislatively-binding action to terminate the country’s membership in the forum. The five Micronesian states which have raised concerns at the appointment of Cook Islands politician Henry Puna as secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum are Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau.