Brussels, 18/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - In Tonga on 18 October, the European Commission and thirteen Pacific States which are members of the ACP group (African, Caribbean and Pacific states) signed Country Strategy Papers setting out development aid priorities for 2008-2013. The signing ceremony took place on the fringes of the 38th Pacific Islands Forum.
In a press release, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said 'I am delighted to see that agreed strategies are on the way now for concrete projects for the benefit of the peoples of the Pacific Region'.
The 13 Pacific States in question are: Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. (out of fifteen Pacific states in the ACP group, the other two being Fiji and East Timor (Timor Leste)).
All connected with the EU through the Cotonou Agreement, they can count on total funding of EUR 267 million from the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) to fund ACP-EU development partnership projects in three domains - good governance, sustainable development of natural resources (particularly renewable energy) and economic growth.
The priorities were jointly drawn up by the European Commission and the partner countries concerned during the aid programming exercise. The adoption of the Country Strategy Papers will facilitate implementation of the strategy adopted by the EU in 2006 for greater partnership with the Pacific Island states (see EUROPE 9201).
In order to launch closer political dialogue between the EU and the Pacific on subjects of common interest, a special EU-Pacific Islands advisory forum will take place on Friday 19 October to look at issues like security, trade, the environment, climate change and economic and social development. Such Forums will be organised on a regular basis in the future. (A.N)