PACER Plus negotiators focus on Development [1]
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - 21:19. Updated on Thursday, April 14, 2016 - 15:09.
Development remains at the centre of a PACER Plus negotiation that is currently on the way in Nadi, Fiji this week, 7-9 December between trade officials from Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and their counterparts from Australia and New Zealand.
Joseph Ma’ahaniua, lead negotiator for the PICs stated, “Development will remain at the centre of our preoccupations for the remainder of the negotiations.”
He said that Pacific Island countries will enjoy many flexibilities under the PACER Plus Agreement, “underscoring that it will not be a conventional free trade agreement, but one that delivers results on development assistance and labour mobility.”
He pointed out that in response to demands by PICs, “Australia removed the cap on its seasonal worker programme and New Zealand has increased the cap under the Recognised Seasonal Employer Policy RSE from 8000 to 9000, which should generate significant economic benefits for all the PICs.”
Pacific Islands Forum leaders during their meeting in Port Moresby in September mandated for the PACER Plus negotiations to be concluded by June 2016.
The Nadi PACER Plus meeting was officially opened by Fiji’s Minister for Trade, Faiyaz Koya, who emphasised that PACER Plus could lay the foundation for increased exports job creation, and poverty alleviation in the Pacific Island Countries if the Agreement’s provisions reflected the principles which led to the launch of negotiations in August 2009.
He also noted that more is needed to be done to ensure that the current agreements were fair and balanced from the perspective of the Pacific Island Countries.
“Development should be at the core of Pacer Plus and the final outcome should reflect this by taking into account the different levels of development between Australia and New Zealand on one hand and the Pacific Island Countries on the other and also within the Pacific Island Countries,” said Faiyaz.
Fiji has only joined the negotiation last year and special effort is needed to address their specific concerns.
However, the Chief Trade Adviser for the Pacific Island Coutries, Dr Edwini Kessie is confident that the negotiations are on track to achieve a development–friendly agreement that will provide a strong framework for the PICs to adopt policies which should create an enabling environment for trade and investment to flourish in the region.