PACER Plus supports Samoan farmers increase exports with harvesting bins
The PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU) today handed over 180 harvesting bins to Samoa’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The harvesting bins will assist Samoan farmers by minimizing post-harvest damage and loss of produce harvested for export. Loss and damage of harvested commodities at the farm and during transportation to cleaning and processing facilities is one of the major challenges and prevailing issues for local produce prepared for export. This is mainly due to lack of appropriate containers or bins used to transport produce from farm to processing and cleaning facilities. “We’re here to support Samoa and other PACER Plus parties in minimizing post-harvest damage and loss. This will result in increasing exportable volume of local produce which would support our families and communities as well as stimulate business activity in Samoa,” said Mr. Roy Lagolago, Head of the PPIU. This support is part the PPIU’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary-related technical assistance and capacity building activities to PACER Plus Parties. Samoa’s Associate Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Maiava Fuimaono Tito Asafo expressed his gratitude to PPIU. “Agriculture is a crucial industry in Samoa. We are, therefore, grateful for the commitment from partners such as the PACER Plus Implementation Unit towards the development of the agriculture sector and the support of our farmers,” said Mr. Asafo. PACER Plus is a regional development-centered trade and investment agreement aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Agreement is designed to support Pacific Island countries to stimulate economic growth by becoming more active partners in, and benefit from, regional and global trade. Nine countries are currently parties to the Agreement: Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. -END- Image Caption: Roy Lagolago (left), Head of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit, hands over 180 harvest bins to Hon. Maiava Fuimaono Tito Asafo, Samoa’s Associate Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries on Monday 25, July 2022. More articles like this one
PACER Plus releases four-year Strategic Plan
The PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU) today released its inaugural Strategic Plan 2022-2025 which provides the public with the PPIU’s overarching mission and activities. The Strategic Plan was endorsed by the PACER Plus Joint Committee which consists of representatives of the PACER Plus parties. The Strategic Plan was developed on the substantial work undertaken by PACER Plus parties in accordance with PPIU’s foundation documents. Kiribati, which chaired the Joint Committee meeting held virtually on Wednesday 22 June, encouraged the parties to take a collective response in identifying opportunities that will bring significant and sustainable benefits as the region grapples with the ongoing impact of climate change, non-communicable diseases, and COVID-19. “PACER Plus provides us with a unique opportunity and forum to respond collectively. It is also an opportunity to do things differently and to leverage our collective knowledge and expertise to achieve our shared vision of improving the livelihood and welfare of our people,” said Hon Bootii Nauan, Kiribati’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Cooperative. Roy Lagolago, Head of the PPIU, supported Mr Nauan’s sentiments adding that PPIU will implement the Development and Economic Cooperation Work Programme to achieve the Agreement’s vision. “By delivering the implementation activities as mutually prioritised and determined by the parties, the PPIU will remain directed and clear in our mission and intent to ensure that everyone will benefit from the PACER Plus Agreement,” said Mr Lagolago. Solomon Islands Trade Commissioner Barrett Salato said: “To achieve meaningful benefits from PACER Plus Agreement would require full and effective implementation of the Development and Economic Work Programme. The Strategic Plan 2022-2025 sets the pathway for the full realization of those benefits.” PACER Plus is a regional development-centered trade and investment agreement aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Agreement is designed to support Pacific Island countries to stimulate economic growth by becoming more active partners in, and benefit from, regional and global trade. Nine countries are currently parties to the Agreement: Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. This was Tuvalu’s first Joint Committee meeting since ratifying the PACER Plus Agreement in January 2022. “Through PACER Plus, Tuvalu foresees accessing new labour markets in other countries, expanding of our labour seasonal worker scheme, local product mapping, value adding and potential exporting, including necessary storage facilities, equipment and labs for processing and testing of local product prior exportation,” said Loloma Homasi, Assistant Secretary to Tuvalu’s Ministry of Fisheries and Trade. Vanuatu’s parliament recently voted in favour for the ratification of the Bill for the PACER Plus Agreement which will make Vanuatu the 10th country to endorse PACER Plus. Vanuatu’s Department of External Trade director, Joe Pakoa Lui, was present at the PACER Plus Joint Committee meeting. “We’re excited to join the PACER Plus family and to collaborate with the PPIU and the parties to implement activities in Vanuatu that would benefit our people and our communities,” said Mr Lui. “PACER Plus marks an exciting new era for Pacific cooperation in trade and investment which Vanuatu is looking forward to participate in.” To view the PPIU Strategic Plan 2022-2025, please visit pacerplus.org/resources or click on the link below. PACER-Plus-Implementation-Unit-Strategic-Plan-2022-2025 -ENDS- Caption: The PACER Plus Joint Committee Meeting, which consists of representatives of the PACER Plus parties, was held virtually on Wednesday, 22 June 2022. More articles like this one
PPIU partners with SPTO to strengthen capacity building
The Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) and Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus Implementation Unit or the PPIU have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster a collaborative partnership that will benefit both organizations and their stakeholders. With its extensive knowledge and experience centred in trade and investment aligning itself to the Sustainable Development Goals, PPIU supports Pacific Island countries to implement activities under the PACER Plus Agreement, stimulating economic growth and sustainable development in the Pacific. Both regional organisations SPTO and PACER Plus will benefit from knowledge sharing and best partnership experiences under the MoU. A key objective of this partnership is that PACER Plus Implementation Unit and SPTO will collaborate to advocate and respond to issues and opportunities that support the development and sustainable growth of the tourism industry in the Pacific. The PACER Plus Implementation Unit will manage and deliver the Development and Economic Cooperation Work Programme that will support Pacific PACER Plus members to strengthen their capacity to benefit from regional trade, economic growth, and sustainable development. Head of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit Mr. Roy Lagolago commended the MoU with SPTO, adding this was an important step in a partnership agreement between two major regional organisations in a time when collaboration and sharing of knowledge was more important than ever. Similarly, SPTO Chief Executive, Mr. Christopher Cocker, emphasized the importance of building partnerships to effectively address common challenges. “We are very excited to work with the PACER Plus Implementation Unit to develop a partnership framework, bringing together our resources and experiences for the benefit of our respective member countries. “To partner and collaborate with an established regional body like the PPIU is crucial particularly when working towards recovery in the tourism industry post the global pandemic. A collaboration with like-minded partners is critical for SPTO and our member countries to drive tourism’s recovery and ensure resilience in the long run”, said Mr. Cocker. -END- Caption: The partnership will respond to issues that support the growth of the tourism industry in the Pacific. (Photo: Samoa Tourism). More articles like this one
The significance of our visual identity
Since the establishment of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit in 2021, it was crucial that our new logo communicated the Agreement’s values and vision for its Parties and the Pacific. The values that embody the PACER Plus Agreement are community and equity. It is also the Pacific Way. Therefore, with the design of our new logo, we sought the input of all Parties and together we collaborated on the Agreement’s new look. We engaged Pacific designers to submit designs for our new logo. Submissions were sought from the Solomon Islands, Samoa, and Kiribati – PACER Plus members who represent the three sub-regions: Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. Additionally, discussions with PACER Plus signatories, stakeholders and feedback provided during the design and establishment of the Implementation Unit all contributed to the development of our logo. There was a common thread found in almost every contribution, a thread that we’ve weaved together to create our final logo. But to understand our logo, we must look back in time. Thousands of years ago, our Pacific ancestors journeyed across the unchartered and tumultuous waters of what we now call the Pacific Ocean, deathly navigating an area that is 99.8 per cent water. This was a remarkable feat, and testament to their navigation and the va’a (known in other Pacific countries as vaka, waka, wa’a, drua) or the double-hulled canoe, one of the finest marine vessels ever built. It was, therefore, fitting that the Implementation Unit’s new logo prominently features the va’a, a symbol of Pacific ingenuity, resilience, innovation, and unity. The va’a is a celebration of our proud past and our continual journey towards a better future. The three points on each of our sails represent the three sub-regions that are part of our PACER Plus family – Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. The sunrise and horizon in the background signifies the dawn of a new era for trade in goods and services in the Pacific under PACER Plus. The blue waves that carry our va’a is in recognition of our Blue Pacific identity, a symbol of a large, unified Pacific carrying this unique trade agreement towards a future where we can end poverty, protect our environment, and improve the well-being of our people. Our new logo weaves together our past, present, and future. It speaks to our commitment as the Implementation Unit to ensure that PACER Plus will provide the platform for economic growth and prosperity for all our people. We are the Pacific. We are PACER Plus. And the Implementation Unit is pleased to present our new logo. More articles like this one
Women and Trade: Addressing gender disparity in Pacific trade
Women’s economic empowerment is everybody’s business. Sustainable, inclusive development requires that everyone, women included, have equal access to opportunities, employment, education, and services and are equally represented in positions of power and decision making. Women account for half of the world’s population, or as Mao Zedong famously said, ‘women hold up half the sky’, yet, they are still under-represented in decision-making and leadership, have lower labour participation rates and in general, receive lower incomes and pays. In 2021, the World Economic Forum calculated that at current rates, it will take 136 years to reach gender parity and a whopping 268 years to close the economic gender gap between men and women. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has dented efforts to achieve gender parity (with the time estimated until this reached increasing from 99 years in 2020 to 136 years in 2021), the economic gap between men and women was already widening, not narrowing, before the pandemic took hold, and our collective failure to address these disparities is estimated to have cost the world US$70 trillion since 1990. Put another way, if we address these disparities, global GDP could increase by up to US$28 billion by 2025. Pacific Island Countries, because of our geographic isolation, relatively small populations and domestic markets, and limited access to resources, are heavily reliant on international trade to service our domestic consumption needs, for economic and employment growth and for sustainable development. Therefore, it stands to reason that making trading easier, both internationally and intra-regionally, should lead to increasing opportunity and, in theory wealth, for Pacific people. However, to truly realise these benefits it is important to ensure they reach everyone, including the more vulnerable, such as women and people with disabilities. Enter PACER Plus, a unique development-centered trade agreement designed by the Pacific and for the Pacific to stimulate economic growth by becoming more active partners in, and benefit from, regional and global trade. Samoa and eight other countries are currently parties to PACER Plus or the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus. The Agreement is taking steps to address the challenges Pacific women face in trade participation by incorporating gender considerations. PACER Plus calls for capacity-building to implement a trade and gender development policy, assistance for a data collection on women engaged in the primary sectors in agriculture, and assistance to facilitate establishment of women-led industries and investment-related assistance. “This is a critical component of our work, and we continue to explore opportunities with our communities in the Pacific on how we can support and elevate women in the trade space,” said Roy Lagolago, Head of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit in Apia, Samoa. But there’s a great deal of work to be done as there are pronounced, pre-existing gender disparities in labour participation, employment, and income. In Samoa, for example, only 23% of women participate in the labour force, compared to 58% of men (according to The Asia Foundation) and occupational concentration by gender is common across the region, with women’s employment concentrated in the services and informal sectors than men. Most businesses are owned and managed by men, and women-led businesses tend to be smaller, younger, have less capital and under-developed networks, which all serve as barriers to engaging in international trade. Women also have less time to devote to developing their business, traveling to meet with customers and less flexibility to work outside of business hours because they carry most of the household domestic burden. While these barriers prevent women-led businesses from expanding, it is also these smaller, less flexible organisations which stand to benefit the most from reforms to trade policies, greater transparency, digital transformations, and the automation of customs procedures. “We at the PACER Plus Implementation Unit want to ensure that women’s voices are heard in trade. Pacific women’s increased participation in trade would not only benefit them but would benefit our economy and society as well. It’s a win for us all,” said Lagolago. * Melissa Collins is the Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Adviser with PACER Plus Implementation Unit. For more information on the Agreement, please visit pacerplus.org More articles like this one
Tuvalu ratifies PACER Plus
Tuvalu Prime Minister Hon Kausea Natano today signed the Tuvalu Instrument of Ratification for the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus). PACER Plus is a regional development-centered trade and investment agreement aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Agreement is designed to support Pacific Island countries to stimulate economic growth by becoming more active partners in, and benefit from, regional and global trade. Mr Natano said that the Tuvalu Government was pleased to finally ratify the PACER Plus Agreement today. “Tuvalu has actively participated in the discussions and negotiations of this Agreement over the years to ensure that it best serves our interests. This important Agreement would encourage economic development in Tuvalu and would greatly benefit our communities. The Agreement’s tariff reductions will lower costs for Tuvalu consumers and businesses, increasing economic activity and, therefore, benefiting our people,” he said. “We’ve worked closely with Mr. Roy Lagolago and his team at the PACER Plus Implementation Unit in Apia, Samoa over the past few months to ensure that Tuvalu is ready to benefit from the opportunities that PACER Plus has to offer Tuvalu,” said Mr Natano. Present at the event via video from Samoa was the Head of PACER Plus Implementation Unit, Mr. Roy Lagolago: “The PACER Plus Agreement is unique compared to other agreements in the region. Unique in that a dedicated Secretariat has been set up to assist and support countries to implement activities under the Agreement. Ratifying the Agreement is the easy part, the challenge for Tuvalu now is to implement activities to make the most of the opportunities that this Agreement has to offer. We at the PACER Plus Implementation Unit stand ready to support Tuvalu and region towards that goal.” Eight countries are currently Parties to the Agreement: Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga. Tuvalu is now the ninth signatory of PACER Plus to ratify the Agreement since it came into force on 13 December 2020. Download as PDF document More articles like this one
Samoa to host PACER Plus Implementation Unit
(Apia) – Samoa’s support for stronger trade and investment in the Pacific region was emphasised in the final steps to establish the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus Implementation Unit in Apia, as The Honourable Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, has signed the Host Agreement with the Head of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit, Mr Roy Lagolago. The Host agreement came into force on the 9th of September. Mrs Peseta Noumea Simi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Mr Lagolago expressed gratitude for the cooperation to date between Samoa officials, PACER Plus parties and the Implementation Unit. “This milestone is a signal of our commitment to improving trade and investment opportunities for the Pacific family and the Implementation Unit will provide the platform for Parties to expand economic opportunities and address trade constraints faced by our island economies,” said Mrs Simi Mr Lagolago shared this view. “During these challenging times, the Parties to PACER Plus recognise the importance of working to secure economic opportunities in our region.” “The Pacific family can use PACER Plus to ease of movement of goods and supplies across borders, and facilitate gains in sustainable development.” This final step in establishing the office of the Implementation Unit in Samoa follows Head of State His Highness Tuimalealiifano Va’aletoa Sualauvi II signing an order under the on 21 July making the PACER Plus organisation a legal entity under Samoan law. This partnership underscores Samoa’s support for more profound economic cooperation among Pacific Island Forum member countries. Samoa was also the first Forum Island Country to ratify the PACER Plus, a further signal of Samoa’s continued commitment to regional integration. The office of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit will be located at Tuanaimato, upstairs of the building currently occupied by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The office space is currently under construction and fit-out, and will create a number of jobs in Samoa. END Contacts: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, SamoaGovernment of Samoa Press Secretariat Download as PDF document More articles like this one
Lagolago appointed Head of PACER Plus Implementation Unit
Samoan-New Zealand National Roy Lagolago has been appointed Head of the PACER Plus Implementation Unit. He will take up an initial two and a half year term to guide the implementation of the region’s most comprehensive trade and investment agreement. Mr Lagolago takes up the role as the Pacific region has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pacific Island Countries are increasingly looking towards regional collaborative approaches to support recovery from the impact that COVID-19 has had on Blue Pacific economies, and to build a more prosperous and resilient future for the Parties. The decision was welcomed by PACER Plus Ministers, via communique on 30 June 2021. “We welcome the appointment of … Mr Roy Lagolago, who has extensive experience in supporting trade facilitation in the Pacific. We look forward to working with him to ensure all PACER Plus members make the most of the Agreement in the pursuit of economic integration and cooperation in the region.” PACER Plus, as a regional development-centred trade and investment agreement, will play a central role in Pacific island countries accessing regional and global trade. Speaking after the Virtual Trade Ministers’ Meeting on 7 July 2021, Mr Lagolago said: “I feel very honoured as a Pacific Islander to have been given the opportunity to serve and guide the implementation of PACER Plus. I look forward to working with the Parties’ governments, Island business communities and investors to maximise opportunities for growth, creating jobs in the Pacific. In a time of many challenges, I hope to create a platform for Forum Island Countries to deepen their relationships further and work together towards greater prosperity for the region.” Mr Lagolago has already begun in his role heading the Implementation Unit. The PACER Plus agreement entered into force on 13 December 2020. Eight countries are currently Parties to the Agreement: Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga. Download as PDF document More articles like this one