The Samoa Agreement will take the partnership with the Pacific Island nations to the next level, according to the European Union (EU) Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert.

Speaking during the Pacific ACP Leaders Meeting in the Cook Islands capital Rarotonga, the EU diplomat said the agreement will include a specific Pacific-EU protocol.

“We are just a few days away from a historic moment in Pacific-EU relations: the signing of the Samoa Agreement which will take our partnership to the next level,” she said in her remarks. "The European Union and the Pacific are long-standing friends and partners with shared interests and values. 

"This is reflected again in the Samoa Agreement, and more specifically its Pacific Protocol, which is fully aligned with the Pacific Island Forum’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.”

The meeting with the ACP is an important part of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting. The Samoa Agreement will be signed in Apia on 15 November 2023.

Ms. Plinkert said as geopolitical tensions and global challenges rise, their cooperation is ever more important, including in the international fora.

“For example, our commitment and objectives are aligned when it comes to addressing the existential threat of climate change," she said. "We also firmly uphold the global rules-based order with the UN Charter at its core, as demonstrated by the Pacific solidarity in the condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Through the European Union’s Global Gateway investment strategy, Team Europe supports the green transition in the Pacific. A Green Blue Alliance, streamlining EU and Member States’ funding, focuses on climate action and the sustainable use of the Pacific’s natural capital. In total, we are committing a minimum of €650 million for the region in support of Pacific priorities.”

Ms. Plinket emphasised that in the last five years, EU imports from Pacific ACP countries have increased from €1.3 to €2.3 billion via the Economic Partnership Agreement.

“The EU proudly guarantees full free access to the EU common market through the Economic Partnership Agreement,” she said. “I’m happy to hear that Tonga, Tuvalu and Niue have recently requested access to the EPA. 

"This is great news, a signal of more cooperation and more opportunities for a better future."

The EU diplomat also said the implementation of bilateral Global Gateway Investment projects has also begun and pointed to projects in Fiji, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea (PNG). 

“For example, we are ready to support hydropower development in Fiji. In Kiribati, the EU is financing feasibility studies for the construction of a deep-sea, multi-purpose port on Christmas Island.

“And in Papua New Guinea, the European Investment Bank joins forces with our French colleagues to rehabilitate the Port of Rabaul. Going forward, we want to attract more private sector investment in support of the infrastructure needs in the Pacific.”