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.

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