Forum Secretariat commends Tuvalu gov't and donor partners

The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade has commended the government of Tuvalu and its donor partners for undertaking the high level dialogue on the Tuvalu Policy Reform Matrix for Budget Support. The two-day dialogue was held in Funafuti, Tuvalu on 20th and 23rd April. “The Forum Secretariat congratulates the Tuvalu Government for its strong leadership in engaging in more regular and high level policy dialogues with its donor partners to discuss joint commitments to strengthening macro-economic, public administration and financial management in Tuvalu. This is the third such high level joint policy discussion between the government of Tuvalu and its development partners in four months,” said Mr Slade. Likewise, the Forum Secretary General commends the development partners in particular Australia, ADB, New Zealand and the World Bank for coordinating their policy advice, harmonizing their policy requirements and engaging in more joint missions and shared agendas to reduce the burden and transaction costs on the government of Tuvalu. “These commitments are in line with the recommendations of the Tuvalu Peer Review conducted by officials from Tonga, Vanuatu, UNESCAP and the Forum Secretariat in Tuvalu last year under the Cairns Compact on Strengthening Development Coordination (Forum Compact) and the Busan Partnership for Development Cooperation. The Secretary General Mr Slade further encourages the Government of Tuvalu and its development partners to continue to strengthen their partnerships through mutual respect, responsibility and accountability noting that this is an emerging good practice that will be highlighted in the Forum Secretariat’s annual report to leaders on the implementation of the Forum Compact in the Pacific. The Forum Secretariat participated at the high level dialogue on the Tuvalu Policy Reform Matrix as part of the follow up on the implementation of the Tuvalu Peer Review recommendations. ENDS. For media enquiries contact Mr Johnson Honimae, the Forum Secretariat’s Media Officer on email: johnsonh@forumsec.org.fj