Pacific countries, EU meet to allocate European fund

The two-day meeting was co-organized by the Suva-based Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the EU delegation for the Pacific. It will see discussions of the implementation of the 11th Pacific Regional Indicative Program (PRIP) of European Development Fund (EDF), the EU's main instrument to deliver fundings to the Pacific countries from 2014 to 2020.

The Forum Secretary-General Tuiloma Neroni Slade called at the meeting for concerted efforts of the Pacific countries and the EU to prioritize tasks and allocate resources.

"The clearer our proposals and recommendations are, the greater the chance will be for these proposals to be translated into a program that will genuinely respond to the development needs of our region and our people," he said.

Alistair Macdonald, acting head of the EU delegation for the Pacific, said the meeting is "tremendously helpful" in setting the blueprint for EU-Pacific regional cooperation over the coming seven years.

"I am confident that the success of the 10th EDF regional program ... will be replicated over the years ahead, for the benefit of the sustainable development of the countries and territories of the Pacific."

The 10th PRIP, covering the years of 2008-2013, has provided 114 million euros (about 146.72 million U.S. dollars) to facilitate regional economic integration and the sustainable management of natural resources in these countries.

The pacific countries, including Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, are generally former colonies of European countries and have benefited from preferential trade access to the EU and the block's financial support for their development.