EU supports Pacific Islands open Permanent Representation to the WTO in Geneva

This week the Pacific Islands Forum countries opened their permanent representation to the WTO in Geneva. The Pacific Office has been supported by a €280,000 grant from the European Development Fund.

European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said : "The WTO negotiations have to be accessible to all, including the smaller members who have special needs and constraints. The establishment of the Pacific Office will help the Pacific region to be better represented in WTO. It will also facilitate the active participation of the small islands and economies in our joint efforts to move the Doha Agenda forward."

The Pacific Office will be the regional representation of 14 Pacific ACP countries in Geneva (Cook Islands, Fed. States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu). It will strengthen the capacity of the currently three Pacific WTO members - Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands - and three observers - Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu - to participate in WTO.

None of these countries is currently permanently represented in Geneva. Moreover the office will serve as an information channel for the other countries in the Pacific region not currently members or observers.

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