Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE: PACER Plus supports Samoan exporters and stakeholders in improving trade through ePhytos

SAMOA, December 7 - APIA, Samoa – More than 10 Samoan exporters attended the opening of the PACER Plus ePhyto Workshop in Apia today. Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), the three-day workshop is funded by the Pacific...

“We cannot fail” Niue leader calls for ambitious targets at global biodiversity negotiations

15 December 2022, Montreal Quebec - Showing global leadership and a strong commitment for a healthy biodiversity, the Pacific island of Niue is the only country that has a leader attending the High-Level Segment of the Fifteenth Conference of the...

PRESS RELEASE – Enhancing Women-led MSME growth in Samoa

The Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour (MCIL) along with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) hosted a panel discussion on 15th March 2024, showcasing good policy practices on women’s...

MEDIA RELEASE: Signing of the Pacific UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027

SAMOA, October 11 - October 11, 2022 Since August 2021, United Nations (UN) teams across the Pacific have worked closely with Pacific governments, civil society, development partners, and the Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific...

ARTICLE – Circular Economy embraced and localized the Samoan way

Apia, SAMOA – The term, Circular Economy, may be considered a new concept by some, but evidence suggests that this has been widely practiced by many Samoans over the years. The Circular Economy refers to a system that aims to minimise waste and...

WTO members review six regional trade agreements

The Committee considered the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs. The Agreement, in force since 17 May 2010 and whose beginnings date back to 1977, establishes a...

JOINT PRESS RELEASE – Strengthening CRVS system in Samoa promotes timely registrations, leaving no one behind.

Apia, Samoa – The transfer of vital IT equipment from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (SBS), ensures the continuity of efforts to strengthen Samoa’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS)...

Pacific preparations for INC-4 provides common understanding on key issues ahead of Ottawa

16 February 2024, Auckland NZ - Fourteen Pacific countries have taken a step closer to finalise their preparations, with a common understanding of key issues, for the next round of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an...

Pacific Leaders support for High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution

14 February 2024, Auckland NZ - Given the negative impact of plastic pollution on Pacific communities, Pacific Leaders at the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Meeting in the Cook Islands last year encouraged members to join the High Ambition Coalition...

“If the land is well and the sea is well, the people will thrive.”- New Zealand Minister at global biodiversity negotiations.

16 December 2022, Montreal, Canada - Aotearoa New Zealand has cemented its commitment to work with others to increase funding for biodiversity and to eliminate environmentally damaging subsidies. Aotearoa New Zealand, a metropolitan member of the...

SOLOMON ISLANDS ATTEND PACIFIC SECURITY CONFERENCE IN FIJI

SOLOMON ISLANDS ATTEND PACIFIC SECURITY CONFERENCE IN FIJI A Government delegation comprising security agencies from Customs, Immigration and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) attended the Joint Heads of Pacific Security Conference in...

Pacific Tourism Organisation Team up with the Cook Islands for Data Excellence Workshop

This week, the Pacific Tourism Organisation has teamed up with the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation to conduct a week-long in-country training focused on data initiatives and the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking Dashboard under the Pacific...

Empowering Pacific negotiators in plastics treaty negotiations

12 February 2024, Auckland NZ - The road for Pacific countries to the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment...

Joint Statement on Partners in the Blue Pacific Foreign Ministers Meeting

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom on the occasion of the Partners in the Blue Pacific Foreign Ministers Meeting September 22,...

Vanuatu as PSIDS Chair rallies Pacific nations in ongoing INC process for a Cleaner Pacific

13 February 2024, Auckland NZ - The Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) are small in numbers but it continues to punch well above its weight in its commitment and dedication to ending plastic pollution. The point was made by the...

PRESS RELEASE – Innovative experiment converts discarded fish skin into sustainable leather products

SAMOA, March 22 - 22 March, 2024 Apia, Samoa – An innovative experiment, known as the 100% Fish Use project, that successfully tested the conversion of discarded fish skin into sustainable fish leather and leather products, was showcased today by...

Why the INC process matters to the Kingdom of Tonga and Solomon Islands

14 February 2024, Auckland NZ - To say the impact of plastic pollution on the Kingdom of Tonga is a problem would be stating it quite mildly. Like most Pacific islands who are at the forefront of the impacts of the escalating plastic pollution...

Week of intense plastic treaty negotiations in Nairobi ends with a way forward

20 November 2023, Nairobi Kenya - Pacific delegates who attended the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment...

Pacific countries go back to the drawing board ahead of next round of plastics treaty negotiations

5 February 2024, Apia Samoa – Fourteen Pacific countries advocating for the priorities of their communities at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including...

Young negotiators laud experience shared at Pacific negotiations training

12 February 2024, Auckland NZ - As a young Pacific woman, Ms Darla Yatilman, of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has high aspirations to help her country address one of the most pressing issues of modern time, the plastic pollution crisis....