Govt welcomes assistance from Aust, other partners

The Government welcomes any assistance from the Australian government and other development partners, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Charles Abel says.
He told The National that the Government was aware of comments by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison about additional assistance of about K7 billion (A$3 billion) to the Pacific Islands for infrastructure.
“We need to get some clarity on that, but I believe it will come via soft financing and potentially some grant funding as well,” Abel said. “We need to see some clarity adding to the existing aid budget, whether it would come through a new regional bank.
“We need to understand some of these things.
“In principle, we welcome the assistance and some of these new initiatives in response to what others are doing in the region.”
According to media reports Morrison will pledge A$3 billion towards much-needed infrastructure in Pacific nations.