The EU at the Pacific Island Forum 2009

"We have made good progress at this year's Pacific Island Forum held in Cairns this week. We reached agreement with other donor nations to provide the Pacific Island States with much needed assistance to tackle the effects of the global economic downturn and to adapt to the challenges brought about by climate change", said Stefano Manservisi at the close of the Pacific Islands Forum at Cairns, Australia, on Friday 7 August 2009.

Mr Manservisi, the European Commission's Director-General for Development and Relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP), led a 14-strong EC delegation for talks with Pacific Island States and the donor nations, including Australia and New Zealand.  Before going onto Cairns, he addressed the Lowy Institute in Brisbane on " The Pacific Islands and the World in the context of the Global Economic Crisis. In Cairns, Mr Manservisi called for more aid effectiveness and welcomed the initiative of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in this respect for a special compact between Pacific Countries and the international partners. He also urged the Pacific States to show a greater commitment to and ownership of the Pacific Plan and other Regional initiatives in terms of their effective implementation and called on donor countries to consult better with regional organisations , using them as a conduit in delivering regional programmes thus ensuring consistency with regional priorities. The EU remains a strong supporter of Pacific regional integration, being the second largest donor of aid in the region. The European Commission alone has grants for the Pacific ACP nations of almost half a billion Euro (NZ$ 1 billion) for the period 2008-2013 and has tripled its regional programme to the Pacific to reach €95m until 2013.

Developing the effectiveness of the Pacific Island Countries and their partners

EC at Lowy conference in Brisbane

Mr Manservisi's speech at the Lowy Institute

40th Pacific Islands Forum at Cairns

Developing the effectiveness of Pacific Island Countires and their Partners