On Friday 5 September, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela announced that, under Global Gateway, the European Union and smaller countries in the Pacific would be investing almost €300 million to boost the region’s sustainable economic development and resilience to climate change.
The programme, announced at the EU-Pacific Business Forum in Fiji, focuses on: the ocean, climate change and the environment; renewable energies; water, sanitation and health; and agriculture, trade, governance and infrastructure.
In concrete terms, regional and national initiatives totalling €80.2 million will strengthen sustainability, resilience and climate-friendly businesses across the region, particularly in Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna.
€53.3 million will be used to boost renewable energy and improve energy efficiency in the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.
€19 million will go towards strengthening the water, sanitation and health sector in Papua New Guinea and Samoa.
€50.9 million in support, with initiatives in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, is intended to help build quality infrastructure and develop the private sector.
€24 million will strengthen agricultural value chains in Vanuatu and give a major boost to Tuvalu’s coconut sector.
Investment in infrastructure, with €39.7 million earmarked for the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati, will strengthen local livelihoods, employment and connectivity.
Finally, the EU will allocate €26.8 million to support the development of trade and the green and blue economy in the Pacific and Timor-Leste. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)