Japan Assists Projects In Pacific Region

Japan Assists Projects In Pacific Region

The Government of Japan is contributing US$200,000 for several Pacific regional projects to help strengthen stability in the region

This is part of Japan’s annual contribution to the activities of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

The funding will support the:

• Marketing Support Fund: US$70,000.00


• Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO): US$30,000.00


• Strengthening Legal Governance: US$100,000.00

“The Forum Secretariat, on behalf of the people of the Pacific commends Japan for giving the stability of the region the priority that it deserves by approving the three projects submitted by the Secretariat for funding,” says Feleti Teo, Acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Mr Teo added “The projects are consistent with the outcomes of Pacific Alliance Leaders’ Meeting (PALM) held in Japan early this year.”

The Marketing Support Fund is an on-going project that provides small grants to exporters and importers in Forum Island Countries (FICs) to help improve their skills and understanding of market requirements. The project was in the past implemented by the Forum Secretariat but the responsibility has now been given to the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO), the Pacific Plan-mandated peak body for the region’s private sector.

The other project funding for PIPSO will support the institutional strengthening of the Organisation as well as its member National Private Sector Organisations (NPSOs) in each of the 14 FICs. This is to enhance the NPSOs’ roles in private sector advocacy and policy dialogue with their respective governments and relevant regional and international institutions.

For the Strengthening Legal Governance project, initial activities are the conduct of two sets of scoping studies with one on legal legislative services and the other covering judiciaries, courts and tribunals. These scoping studies will determine the challenges and issues facing FICs in these fields, and explore the possibilities of deeper regional cooperation and integration to assist in addressing them.

ENDS.

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