PINA

China gave significantly less aid to Pacific island nations in recent years despite Beijing’s diplomatic efforts to increase its influence in the region, according to a Sydney-based think tank. Chinese aid to the Pacific shrank by 31 percent in 2019 to US$169 million, the Lowy Institute said in its annual Pacific Aid Map released Wednesday. Only the World Bank pulled back...

Fiji's Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu says the recent top appointments within the disciplined forces are timely. Seruiratu said these are challenging times and there are various issues that need to be addressed. Brigadier-General Jone Kalouniwai was recently appointed the new Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces by the Constitutional Offices Commission. This includes the re-appointment of Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho as...

Pacific nations are swiftly rolling out their vaccine programmes, but some countries are struggling with vaccine hesitancy, logistical challenges and the risk of significant wastage. The challenges facing some Pacific Island nations have been highlighted by the recent example of Papua New Guinea. PNG has a population of nine million, but less than one per cent is vaccinated. Meanwhile, the country...

Tonga's Prime Minister told the United Nations that Tonga aims to vaccinate up to 70 percent of its population by end of 2022. In a recorded speech, Dr Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa told the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly on 25 September, Tonga’s response was to remain vigilant amid this global pandemic. “To date, approximately one third of the population have...

Kiribati is set to benefit from technical support and sustainable economic development opportunities arising from participation in the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER Plus). This is after the Government of Kiribati launched its partnership with the Australian and New Zealand funded Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Plus Program (PHAMA Plus) programme to facilitate trade and market access...

Fiji’s financial system remains sound with total gross assets at $24.1billion (US$11.4 billion). The Reserve Bank of Fiji’s audited financial statements for the year ending 31 July, 2021 showed the bank recorded a net profit of $31.7million (US$15 million) for the 2020-2021 financial year, slightly higher than the $30.1m (US$14 million) in the preceding financial year. A statement from the bank...

By Sadhana Sen The release of Fiji poverty data desegregated by ethnicity and religion by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics in its 2019-20 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), resulted in the firing of its CEO last week. Kemueli Naiqama, was escorted from his office on 15 September. A Fiji government statement later that day said that the information published...

There are warnings that children born today can expect to live through up to 24 times more extreme weather events than their grandparents will have experienced, and there are dramatic predictions for those in the Pacific. The authors say their findings should serve as a catalyst to speed up international action on climate change. Researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in...

Papua New Guinea's leader says the United Nations must assess human rights in West Papua as has been called for by the Pacific Islands Forum. There have been concerns for many years about human rights abuses in West Papua perpetrated by Indonesian security forces. The Forum membership has been asking for a team of human rights specialists to be sent in,...

The East Asia and Pacific region’s recovery has been undermined by the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, prolonging the distress for firms and households, likely slowing economic growth and increasing inequality, the World Bank said on Monday. Economic activity began to slow down in the second quarter of 2021, and growth forecasts have been downgraded for most countries in...