New Zealand funding boost for Pacific region development
30 March 2015
Noumea, New Caledonia – Pacific Islands development has received a boost from New Zealand, with a new funding commitment
to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) to strengthen its work in three vital thematic areas.
New Zealand’s Consul General in New Caledonia, H.E. Justin Fepuleai, and the Director-General of SPC, Dr Colin
Tukuitonga, have signed an agreement to extend New Zealand’s funding to SPC’s agriculture, public health and geoscience
services programmes for a further two years, totalling NZD 4,430,000.
“Today’s announcement brings New Zealand’s total core and programme funding for SPC, for the period 2014 to 2016, to NZD
18.3 million which also includes existing support for SPC’s work in sustainable management of oceanic and coastal
fisheries, and strengthening Pacific Island national statistics systems,” Consul General Fepuleai said.
Dr Tukuitonga welcomed the funding extension for SPC’s programmes during a ceremony at SPC’s headquarters in Noumea.
“The move from annual to more flexible and predictable funding enables our scientists and other technical experts to
plan work with countries in a more strategic way, and to respond effectively to the most important challenges and
opportunities facing SPC’s Pacific Island members.
“New Zealand is one of SPC’s founding members and has been a constant supporter of our work in the Pacific for more than
65 years, contributing to making a real difference in people’s lives,” the Director-General said.
For example, in the past 10 days, New Zealand Aid Programme support has enabled SPC’s world-class Geoscience Division to
set up a Cyclone Pam Spatial Data Resources portal (http://pcrafi.spc.int/static/pam/index.html) which contains detailed
analyses of satellite images of affected areas and other spatial data resources to assist humanitarian efforts.
New Zealand and SPC signed a 10-year strategic partnership arrangement in December 2014, which broadened the
relationship to enhance opportunities for more strategic collaboration to address development priorities in the Pacific
region.
SPC is the principal technical and scientific organisation supporting development priorities in the Pacific region. It
has 26 members, including all 22 Pacific Island countries and territories, as well as Australia, France, New Zealand and
the USA.
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