Fragile Pacific Islands states getting special treatment

The National Business

By ERIC PIET
CAPACITY development for fragile Pacific states will be given prominence in the coming years to ensure sustainability and resilience, an official says.
Speaking at the opening of the two-day Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC) meeting in Port Moresby yesterday, coordinator David Kloeden said fragile state support was crucial, given the fragility classification of seven PFTAC countries. He said PFTAC’s capacity development efforts were directed towards addressing the needs of Pacific Islands countries (PIC) in three areas:

  • Strengthening the resilience of PICs, given their susceptibility to volatile natural disasters and external shocks;
  • promoting and working towards sustainable public finances; and
  • Promoting inclusive economic growth.

Economic leaders from 16 PFTAC member countries, including donor partners, have converged on Port Moresby for this important annual event.
It provides governance oversight of recent PFTAC operations, and strategic guidance and endorsement of work plans and budgets for the year ahead.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative, Scot Roger, said the goal of hosting annual PFTAC discussions was to identify needs of different member countries so resources could be allocated based on this.
“This meeting is important for all the 16 member countries and the donor partners because at International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, we will allocate resources in the annual planning for each country and region based on the needs we identify here in this meeting,” he said.
“The resources allocation could range from subject areas such as monetary or fiscal, banking supervisions and logistics.”