Pacific Finance Ministers discuss priorities in virtual meeting [1]
Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - 17:18. Updated on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - 17:18.
Major economic and social impacts of CoViD-19 on the Pacific was the focus of the Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) over the last two days, 11-12 August.
Economic Ministers and senior officials from around the Pacific attended the meeting virtually for the first time.
The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor said in her introductory remarks that discussions would also include the region’s underlying economic challenges, access to financing for resilience development, and economic inequalities.
“The COVID-19 pandemic compels us to carefully think about what investments, policies and partnerships we require to secure our economic resilience and the wellbeing of our people now and into the future.”
It provides the opportunity to envisage what we want the “new normal” to be, for our region – do we simply wait until the global economy recovers, or do we use the opportunity to assert a regional economy that supports Pacific priorities? she said.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Fletcher Tabuteau said the meeting provided an essential opportunity to take stock of regional economic priorities and develop a collective plan of action to address them.
“New Zealand remains committed to supporting the Pacific region with its economic development ambitions.”
“We are focused on ensuring Pacific countries have the tools in place to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then to undertake a longer-term recovery,” he stated.