Enhancing Pacific business climate for future prosperity

BizClim Officials at the official opening of the two-day meeting yesterday.

The Deputy Prime Minister Ham Lini Vanuaroroa officially opened a two day conference on enhancing Pacific Business Climate for future prosperity at the Warwick Le Lagoon hotel in Port Vila yesterday morning. Six Pacific countries in the region are represented in the Meeting, the first of its kind to be held in the Pacific region.

In his official opening speech of the meeting yesterday morning, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade Vanuaroroa said this is the first time that Vanuatu Government is hosting this regional program on Business Climate Facility in the Pacific Region.

“This important program called ‘the ACP Business Climate Facility Program’ (BizClim) is a joint initiative financed under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). BizClim aims at fostering a business enabling environment in the ACP countries and regions by improving legislations, institutional framework and financial measures relating to the enabling environment of the private sector,”DPM Lini reminded the delegates to the meeting.

The Vanuatu DPM and Minister of Trade also state that: “ The Contonou Agreement signed on 23rd of June 2000 in Contonou,Benin, provides support for 77 countries in the three Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) Zones for a twenty-year period . Its main purpose, Trade Minister Lini said, is to eradicate poverty and integrate the ACP group into multilateral trading system. The Contonou Agreement also provides an important role for the non-state actors, including the private sector,” Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Lini reminded the delegates attending the first BizClim Meeting in Port Vila.

“Trade and investment is one of the key pillars of the ACP-EU Contonou Agreement. Recognizing the private sector as an integral partner in development, the agreement complements the integrated European Union (EU) strategy for private sector development,(PSD) offering a unified approach to delivering policies and program to support the private sector. Vanuatu continues to cherish and appreciate the good cooperation and relations with the ACP-EU Cooperation provided under the Contonou Agreement,” DPM and Trade Minister Lini said in his official opening speech of the Meeting yesterday morning.
The DPM and Trade Minister also said the ACP Business Climate Facility Program takes a further step forward in strategy and policy development in the ACP countries. It places emphasis and promoting environment within which the private sector can grow, he said. He said this is an opportunity where relevant key stakeholders in the Pacific region including Vanuatu are given this ample time to discuss business environment issues and possible assistance from BizClim for boosting the business and environment climate and identifying concrete collaboration opportunities, Lini said.

The Vanuatu DPM Lini also pointed out that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays a very important role in the economic development of the ACP countries in particularly the Pacific region.

“While we appreciate the key benefits emerged from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),we are also experiencing numerous issues affecting investment Climate in the region. There are ongoing challenges in our existing legal frameworks or legislations, institutional frameworks and financial systems in our respective countries that deserve to be improved to enable proper conducive environment for genuine investment. We are being fortunate to host this meeting today of different countries are assembled here to share their experiences and discuss investment environment issues in an open atmosphere and to identify concrete opportunities for regional collaboration, “Vanuatu DPM and Trade Minister Lini remarked during the official opening of BizClim Meeting Yesterday at the Le Laggon Hotel.

The Vanuatu DPM also emphasized that Vanuatu is now gearing up for the major event ahead and that is the ACP-EU International Ministerial Conference due to be held in Port Vila in June of this year. He said it will be for the first time that Vanuatu will host the 95th Session of ACP Council and to be followed subsequently by the 37th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers Meeting right here in Port Vila. He confirmed that High-government officials from various member countries of the ACP Group will be represented in this inaugural meeting and that the conference is expected to bring the entire ACP-EU Joint delegations from North and South to converge in Port Vila and to discuss key and fundamental issues of the ACP-EU joint cooperation, the Vanuatu DPM and Trade Minister Lini told the Pacific delegation at the BizClim Meeting yesterday.

The Vanuatu DPM and Trade Minister also acknowledged the presence of the Vanuatu Ambassador to Brussels Roy Mickey Joy whom he said has been untiring and committed with goof leadership that has enable Vanuatu’s participation in this ACP-EU Business Climate Facility which will enable many Pacific countries to also benefit from.

Other key figures at the two-day BizClim that opened yesterday and finishes today include, Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific islands Private sector organization Mr. Ashif Khan, Mr. M. Cherif who is the Director of the BizClim Facility in Brussels, Mr. Keith Atkinson, pacific Representative of the IMANI International Consortium who has been instrumental in organizing this important event, High Level delegates from various Pacific ACP States, and representatives of the new CDE Regional Office in the Pacific,Mr. Smith Tebu, Chief Executive Officer of the Vanuatu Investment and Promotion Authority and Government officials and representatives from the Vanuatu private sector and the NGOs.