By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Milan, Italy
Cook Islands has encouraged the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support its development aspirations – recognising its vulnerabilities and strengths, adopting a differentiated approach.
And, Prime Minister Mark Brown used his statement in Milan, the host of the 58th Annual Meeting, to request the ADB to ‘ensure that all our entitlements under the Asian Development Fund 14 (ADF14) are available and accessible within four years.
ADB’s Vice President for East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific said allocation for Pacific Developing Member States (PDMCs) under ADF14 will increase by more than a third.
The ADF is the bank’s largest source of grants for operations in its poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries and is replenished every four years. Last year the ADB agreed to a replenishment of USD$5 billion for ADF14 that will support grant operations during 2025–2028.
While the allocation for ADF14 were not readily available to PACNEWS, an ADB report for ADF13 said Kiribati received USD$55 million and the Republic of the Marshall Islands USD$50 million. Six other countries – Federated States of Micronesia, Maldives, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu -each received USD$45 million. Samoa and Vanuatu were allocated USD$40 million each.
For ADF14, these amounts will increase by a third – with allocations disbursed in the next four years.
“In our most recent discussions with ADB, I understand that there is more acceptance from the bank for the concept of capacity supplementation to support “start up” and reform programs noting the limited capacity and labour market conditions and expertise often the case in SIDS.”
Cook Islands thanked ADB for the continued efforts to bolster support for SIDS through increased concessional financing, technical assistance, and capacity-building initiatives.
“In recognition of our diseconomies of scale where a nano economy faced by SIDS challenges is expected to provide the full suite of public goods and services expected of a developed country, the Cook Islands should not be excluded from the grant funded regional programmes such as the Corresponding Banking Relationships or similar.
PM Brown reiterated Cook Islands commitment to partnership and collaboration in addressing the shared challenges confronting small Pacific islands.
“We call upon the Asian Development Bank, development partners, and the global community to stand in solidarity with us as we strive for a resilient, sustainable, and prosperous future for our people and our planet.
In Cook Islands, real GDP growth was 14.0 percent and nominal GDP growth was 26.6 percent.
“Growth has been driven by tourism-related industries, on the back of a resurgence in visitor arrivals. Arrivals have been boosted by recent additions to airline routes servicing the Cook Islands and arrivals are now approaching pre-COVID record levels.
“Tourism arrivals, particularly from key source markets of New Zealand and Australia are projected to continue growing. However, there are significant risks to the economic outlook, as several factors around the world may have flow-on impacts to both prices and supply of imported goods (including food), and risks to the demand for tourism and our goods exports, including conflicts, global trade policy uncertainty, and supply chain constraints. The ongoing trade policy uncertainty is, in itself, having a negative impact on global financial markets, investment and growth.”
“Our significant reliance on a single currency for economic transactions puts our economy in a vulnerable position. Therefore, we call on ADB to work with us in strengthening our financial resilience through tailored financial solutions.
Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) face a significant climate finance challenge, due to fragmented and small-scale funding efforts from various donors.
“We commend ADB for your support and guidance in developing the Pacific concept for “Regional Programmatic Approach on Climate Action (RPACA)” to access Green Climate Fund resources.
The RPACA programme seeks to transform the approach to climate resilience in the Pacific by fostering regional collaboration, building capacities and streamlining climate finance. This shift will enable PSIDS to adopt locally led solutions to build our resilience against climate change impacts.
The Cook Islands has had a prominent role in establishing successful and significant regional programmes, including the Pacific Catastrophic Risk Insurance Company and the Pacific Reliance Facility and will continue its leadership in promoting the RPACA.
