  
  
RD/COMTD/AFT/13* 
13 November 2023  
 Page: 1/3 
Committee on Trade and Development  
(Aid for Trade)  Original:  English  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT  
14 November 2023  
 
 
 
Comité du commerce et du développement (Aide pour le commerce)  
 
DOCUMENT DE SÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT  
14 November 2023  
 
 
 
Comité de Comercio y Desarrollo (Ayuda para el Comercio)  
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT  
14 November 2023  
 
_______________   
 
* In Original language only/En langue originale seulement/En el idioma original solamente.  
1 Documents issued in the RD series are not official WTO documents. They usually appear in their 
language of submission and will not be translated systematically int o the working languages of the WTO. They 
are intended for use in WTO meeting rooms and are attributed an unofficial symbol for archiving purposes only.  
Les documents de la série RD ne sont pas des documents officiels de l 'OMC. Ils ne paraissent 
généraleme nt que dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été communiqués et ne seront pas systématiquement 
traduits dans les langues de travail de l'OMC. Ils sont destinés aux salles de réunion de l'OMC et une cote non 
officielle leur est attribuée à des fins d'archiva ge. 
Los documentos de la serie RD no son documentos oficiales de la OMC. Por lo general se distribuyen en 
el idioma en que han sido presentados y no se traduce n sistemáticamente a los idiomas de trabajo de la 
Organización. Se distribuyen para su uso en las  salas de reunión de la OMC y se les asigna una signatura no 
oficial a efectos de archivo únicamente.  RD/COMTD/AFT/13  
 
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  Good morning everyone, and thank you for the opportunity to provide an update on the Regional 
Aid for Trade initiatives in the Pacific.  
Chair,  
The economic competitiveness of Pacific Islands has historically been undermined by their small 
population, tiny domestic markets, and geographical remoteness. As a result, the Pacific Region's 
economic growth  has usually lagged behind global rates.  
Unable to rely on their domestic markets, Pacific Island Countries can nonetheless find development 
opportunities in international trade and regional cooperation.  
To achieve this objective, a Pacific Aid -for-Strate gy was approved by our Trade Ministers in 2020. 
For the period 2020 -2025, the Strategy identifies four priority areas where regional cooperation can 
make a difference for our trade competitiveness. These are (1) E -commerce, (2) Services, 
(3) Connectivity, and (4) Deepening Markets, including through Quality Infrastructure, Trade 
Facilitation, Trade Policies, and Trade Agreements.  
The Pacific Island Forum Secretariat has been tasked to establish and coordinate regional initiatives 
that can brin g together governments, donors, and technical agencies around the priorities identified 
by our Pacific Aid -for-Strategy. Our approach is being quite successful, with tangible progress in the 
areas of e -commerce, quality infrastructure, trade facilitation, and services.  
E-commerce  is an area has great potential to narrow distances and trade costs, and to promote 
diversification of Pacific economies. A Pacific Regional E -commerce Strategy and Roadmap was 
approved by our Ministers in August 2022 and is guiding our work in this space.  Already, 43 percent 
of the Strategy’s 54 priority measures are being actioned thanks to the implementation of a series 
of well -coordinated projects. Relevant efforts include the development of a Pacific e -commerce 
portal, formulation of harmonized nationa l e-commerce strategies, electronic interfacing between 
customs and post offices, adoption of model e -commerce legislation, regional training for 
government officials and small businesses, development of a regional e -commerce statistics 
database, deploymen t of innovative e -payment systems, support to the regionalization of national 
e-commerce platforms, etcetera. Detailed information on these activities is available on our Pacific 
E-commerce Portal, which you can visit at www.pacificecommerce.org.  
On standa rds and conformity assessment , a Pacific Quality Infrastructure Initiative is laying the 
foundations to ensure a sustainable upgrade in the quality of Pacific goods and services. Launched 
in 2017, the Initiative aims to improve the quality of Pacific produ cts and services sold in domestic 
and overseas markets. Our initial efforts focused on partnership building, rapid diagnostic studies, 
and establishing a governance model comprising regional committees on standards, metrology, and 
conformity assessment.  
Given the initial limited knowledge on Quality Infrastructure in the region, foundational training was 
provided to enhance our members' capabilities, in collaboration with the standard and conformity 
agencies of Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. The Pacif ic Quality Infrastructure partners 
conducted detailed needs assessments, quality value chain studies, and surveys to evaluate the 
state of Qquality Infrastructure and demand for services in the Pacific.  
Based on this foundational work, targeted support is currently being offered to QI service providers, 
including national standards bodies and testing laboratories. This support involves virtual and hands -
on training, expert consultations, pre -audits of laboratories, and procurement of necessary 
equipment. Th e initiative is guided by a medium -term framework of priority regional actions 
approved in 2020 by Forum Trade Ministers.  
On trade facilitation , room for improvement is still significant in the Pacific region. According to 
UNESCAP, implementation of trade facilitation measures in Pacific Islands countries stands at 
41 percent against 65 percent of the Asia -Pacific region, and 97 percent of Australia and New 
Zealand. To improve this situation, in 2021 we commenced consultations on a Pacific Regional Trade 
Facilitation Strategy, which was eventually approved in October this year by Pacific Trade Minsters.  RD/COMTD/AFT/13  
 
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  The Pacific Regional Trade Facilitation Strategy proposes 22 regional actions divided into five areas, 
namely risk -based border controls, clearance processes , transparency and advance decisions, 
administrative regulations, and Electronic information exchange. Implementation will soon 
commence with the objective to achieve a level of implementation of trade facilitation measures 
equivalent to that of comparator  economies.  
Lastly on Services , I am pleased to announce that last month Pacific Trade Ministers endorsed the 
establishment of a Pacific Regional Trade in Services Initiative. The Initiative will initially focus on 
the development of harmonized national di agnostic studies, with a pilot study taking place early next 
year in Vanuatu. These studies will eventually inform the development and subsequent 
implementation of a regional strategy. In this area, we see opportunities to benefit from any global 
initiativ e, such as the one advocated in the report recently launched in this house by the WB and 
WTO Secretariat.  
Chair,  
We hope that our Pacific Aid -for-Trade program can provide a good example of how regionalism can 
be leveraged in the trade sphere to support e conomic development. Many of our priority areas align 
with the WTO Aid -for-Trade work program, which I hope helps in making our update relevant to the 
proceedings of this committee. We will keep updating this house on progress with our regional 
initiatives  and are keen to advance dialogue with interested donor partners and implementing 
agencies willing to cooperate with us.  
Thank you.  
 
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