Caption: National Trade and Cultural Week Market, Solomon Islands.

Pacific trade and economic growth

2007/2008 allocation: $1 million

NZAID supports sustainable economic growth and trade at the regional level by funding a number of agencies and programmes that provide advice on economic reform and the management of public finances, and promote the development of trade in the Pacific.

The Regional Trade Facilitation Programme (RTFP)

New Zealand has committed to providing $1 million over three years to support the Regional Trade Facilitation Programme which was set up under the Pacific Agreement for Closer Economic Relations. The programme focuses on three areas: customs procedures, standards and conformance, and sanitary/phyto-sanitary (animal and plant hygiene) requirements.

Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commitment (PITIC)

New Zealand provides funding to the Auckland Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission (PITIC). PITIC promotes trade, investment and tourism for Pacific countries and forms part of the wider Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (ForSec) trade programme, which NZAID also supports through its core funding of ForSec.

Other Trade Support

Statistics NZ is supported to provide a helpdesk supporting trade software used by several Pacific countries to monitor trade statistics.

NZAID has supported Pacific attendance at Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) World Trade Organisation (WTO) roundtable meetings. The roundtable promotes awareness of issues around trade in agriculture and fisheries products.

In preparation for New Zealand negotiations on the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement NZAID will make available funds to support the position of Chief Trade Negotiator and for trade education to key and non-state actors.

Pacific Financial Institutions

New Zealand continues to support the Pacific Private Enterprise Partnership (Pacific PEP – formerly Pacific Enterprise Development Facility, the Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS) and the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC).

Pacific PEP supports the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in a in a number of Pacific countries. A major focus of its work has been improving the access of SMEs to financial services, through working with commercial banks, credit unions and helping to establish the Pacific's first funds manager in Samoa. New Zealand provided NZ$750,000 in 2006/07.

FIAS advises government on improving the environment for investment and business development. An example is the preparation of amendments to investment legislation in the Solomon Islands which are likely to improve the climate for private sector development.

The Suva based Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC) assists countries to enhance skills and establish institutional capacity for the effective management of their economies. NZAID provided NZ$810,000 in 2006/07. PFTAC provides technical advice and capacity building to 15 Pacific Island countries in four key areas: tax and customs policy; public financial management; financial sector supervision and regulation; and economic and financial statistics.

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (ForSec) is also involved in providing economic advice and policy development assistance through regional mechanisms such as the Forum Economic Ministers' Meeting (FEMM) and Forum Trade Ministers' Meeting (FTMM).

Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBECs)

NZAID supports business advisory centres through bilateral programmes. A regional workshop for SBEC managers in 2007 aimed to share information and new developments in management and the direction of SBECs and economic development agencies.

Pacific Regional Fisheries Programme

New Zealand provides $3 million per year to the Forum Fisheries Association (FFA), a Pacific regional agency tasked with managing fishing conservation and economic development of fishing stocks. All FFA members are members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which also includes major fishing nations (or example, Japan, Korea, China). It aims to bring about effective management and conservation of the western and central Pacific tuna fishery. This fishery is a critical economic and livelihood resource for Pacific Island countries and territories.

In 2005/06 supported a regional tuna tagging project conducted by the Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority. It will provide fishery-independent information on fish movement, growth and mortality. This project covers the first phase of a larger regional tagging project and focuses on tagging in the waters of PNG, the results of which will be fed into regional stock assessments.

It also supported a project to improve data collection on yellowfin and bigeye tuna caught in Philippines and Indonesian waters – the same tuna stocks range across Pacific Island countries’ waters. This work is co-ordinated by the SPC on behalf of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

MFAT, MFish and NZAID prepared a strategy to guide NZ officials’ work on Pacific fisheries issues over 2006-2010. The strategy sets out the high level outcomes which are sought by New Zealand, and the operational priorities for delivering on these outcomes.