14th FEMM Officially Opens In Niue

14th FEMM Officially Opens In Niue

Alofi, Niue, 27th October 2010-

The forecast for an estimated 0.5 percent economic growth in the Pacific region in 2010 is good news but a key downside risk is the issue of growth without jobs.

Speaking at the opening of the 14th Forum Economic Ministers’ Meeting (FEMM) in Alofi, Niue today, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade said the meeting is being held at a time where the global economic recovery is “sluggish, with flow-on implications for the region”.

“While global recovery has been experienced in various parts of the world, experts have called the recovery fragile and uneven between, and among, developed and developing countries. And so we live with a situation of general and enduring fragility worldwide and with expected risks. A key downside risk is the issue of growth without jobs, which is a significant challenge affecting the Pacific,” said Mr Slade.

He told the Forum Economic Ministers: “The forecast for an estimated 0.5 percent growth in 2010 is of course good news. Modest, but positive news. But, without job creation accompanying this modest growth in real terms, development objectives such as poverty reduction and the improvement of service delivery to the rural communities, in particular, will remain at risk.”

The Forum Secretary General highlighted the need for regional cooperation as critical for economic recovery in the Pacific region.

“The world community acted together to prevent a crisis of global seriousness and magnitude; and international cooperation will be essential, as it will be tested, to protect the recovery. In more ways than one, regional cooperation can do the same. It is important however, that the regional response be tailored to the needs and development priorities of member Government and to the aspirations and capacities of their communities.”

Mr Slade said it was therefore significant that Forum Economic Ministers adopted the overarching theme for this years’ meeting as ‘Broadening the Economic Base’.

“Soundness of such a thematic strategy quite apart, there are a range of success stories from around the region on ways in which economic bases have been strengthened, with understanding of how sound policy actions, as well as emerging trends in key sectors have combined to help broaden the economic base, in turn, helping to build more resilient national economies.”

The Forum Secretary General reminded the Forum Economic Ministers that fisheries remains a key resource for the majority of the Forum Island Countries.

“As mandated by the last meeting of Economic Ministers’, you will need to discuss how the region might go about improving the returns from fisheries. The concern to maximise the sustainable economic returns from fisheries is central in the process of identifying strategies for enhancing macroeconomic stability and future growth prospects for our Pacific communities. And more so because it is only right that Pacific countries are able to secure increased economic rents from the ownership of Exclusive Economic Zones that support a fishery that yields annual catches worth an estimated US$4 billion.

Mr Slade added: “Forum Leaders, as FEMM Ministers have done, have voiced serious concern at the appalling discrepancy between this vast billion-dollar potential and the meagre return of some US$70 million which Pacific countries are able to earn through access fees.”

“The call for increased revenues from the commercialisation of fisheries is consistent with aspirations for strengthening revenue collection in Forum Island Countries towards mitigating the impacts of the global economic crisis, declining aid flows and the challenges of trade liberalisation. Ministers will no doubt wish to consider what options may be available and the measures that they can apply in their own context at the national level.”

He said effective regional responses to address these types of challenges will require clear coordination, at national and regional levels, and amongst the Pacific development partners. This FEMM session will receive an update on the Cairns Compact on Strengthening Development Co-ordination in the Pacific, aimed at driving more effective coordination of available development resources to ensure real progress in achieving national development priorities and the international and regional development goals.”

Ministers within the framework of the Cairns Compact, will receive an update on the Roadmap which is aimed at progressively strengthening Forum Island Countries public finance management systems, including expenditure management, revenue, and procurement, in order to raise the effectiveness of these mechanisms to enhance the delivery of development services and resources.

On funding for climate change, FEMM will focus its attention on a global phenomenon which Forum Leaders have declared the greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific.

Forum Leaders have tasked FEMM to advice on options to improve access to, and management of, climate change resources. There will be presentations for the Ministers’ consideration, from the Forum Secretariat and a study in progress from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“The issue is of magnitude and complexity, with important practical and policy implications for the region, and of necessity would require wide consultations among the various stakeholders; and we would expect that more detailed work would be required to better define feasible options. This meeting should agree on the necessary consultations to be completed in a timely manner and with the aim of presenting concrete options for FEMM to consider and to report to Leaders before the next Forum meeting in September 2011,” Forum Secretary General, Mr Slade told FEMM:

He also highlighted the leadership and policy role of FEMM in setting the desired economic and financial standards and directions for the growth and development of the region.

“By the vision of our Leaders, we need to ensure a region of opportunities and of security and prosperity so that all Pacific peoples are able to lead worthwhile lives. Because of its responsibility in the fulfilment of this vision, FEMM needs to be clear, innovative and strategic in its policy formulation; and coordinated, forward-looking and efficient in its programmes for implementation. We think the constant reviews and reforms of FEMM and its ways of operation is desirable and would so commend this to Ministers. The FEMM is the natural guardian of the Pacific Plan which exists to strengthen and deepen regional cooperation and integration.”

The Niue FEMM is also attended by representatives of the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO), the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the IMF/Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PIFTAC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank.

ENDS.

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