Three Pacific Island Countries join IFAD

Three Pacific Island Countries join IFAD

15 February, 2013 (Suva, Fiji) - Three applications for membership into the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) from the Governments of the Republic of Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have been endorsed by the IFAD Governing Council which is currently meeting in Rome.

Currently there are nine Pacific Island countries that are members of IFAD, namely the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga. With Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu joining, membership of Pacific Islands to IFAD will increase to 12.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested almost US$14 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering about 400 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities.

IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the United Nations’ food and agriculture hub. It is a unique partnership of 168 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organization for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD).

ENDS

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