Statement by PACER Plus Lead Spokesman to FTMM

Delivered by Hon William Haomae, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Solomon Islands

Apia, Samoa, 17th June, 2009

Thank you Chair,

As Lead Spokesman for Forum island countries on PACER Plus matters, our Ministers have asked me to make some opening remarks to highlight what we believe are the most important issues for us to consider today.

Before I say anything about the few remaining issues, I would like us all to take a moment to reflect on what has already been achieved. Since Forum Trade Ministers met in Rarotonga last year, our officials have met three times to develop a Joint Roadmap and to discuss what support Pacific island countries will need. Ministers have also met informally to consider these issues. As I look through the documents that have come from these discussions, I take heart in how much progress we have made, and how much our countries have been able to agree on. Almost everything in the Joint Roadmap has already been accepted by all Forum Members. We have all approached these discussions in a spirit of good faith and have been willing to compromise, and I believe that that approach has already paid dividends. I also believe that the progress that we have made demonstrates the commitment that we all have to making PACER Plus a truly unique agreement that will provide benefits for us all.

Mr Chairman, everybody around this table is aware that the Pacific island countries will need the help of a coordinating office during the negotiation of a new trade agreement. We have all agreed that Pacific island countries will need an organisation to provide technical expertise and advice. We all recognise that such an office must be independent of donors, negotiating partners and the Forum Secretariat, and must truly be owned and controlled by the Pacific.

Mr Chairman, I wanted to emphasise how much we agree on, because I understand that today's discussion will focus on the few areas on which our officials have not been able to reach a consensus. And I would now like to spend a few moments explaining the views of Pacific island countries on the few issues that us Ministers now need to debate.

The first item that I would like to comment on is the generous offer of Australia to fund a secondee from the World Trade Organisation to help the Forum Secretariat to establish the office of the Chief Trade Advisor (OCTA). I know that this offer was considered carefully by our officials in Port Vila last month, and Pacific island Ministers also had the opportunity to discuss it amongst ourselves this week. I would like to thank my colleague, Minister Crean, for his kind offer, but I must report that Pacific island Ministers have decided that a secondee will not be necessary. We have every faith that the Forum Secretariat has the necessary expertise, and enough understanding of the Pacific, to do an excellent job of recruiting a CTA and helping to establish his or her office. We would, however, encourage Australia to consider allocating this funding contribution to the core budget of the OCTA. I am sure that my colleague Ministers from Australia and New Zealand will understand the reasons that we are anxious to select our advisors for ourselves, rather than relying on external organisations such as the WTO to identify them for us.

Mr Chairman, the second issue that we will need to discuss is the composition of the Governing Board. I understand that concerns have been raised by Australian officials to make sure that Pacific Ministers are able to oversee the operation of the OCTA. I would like to take this opportunity to reassure Australia that we strongly believe in the governance structure that our officials have proposed. This structure has three tiers. The Governing Board, composed of Pacific officials, will meet regularly to oversee the work of the OCTA. It will consider the technical detail of negotiation. That Board will report directly to us, Pacific Ministers, on at least an annual basis. We will provide political and strategic guidance to the Board and to the OCTA, and we will endorse the OCTA's annual work plan. In turn, we Ministers will report to our Leaders as necessary. I believe that such a structure is necessary to ensure that the OCTA receives the right balance of technical and political guidance. I would also like to remind the meeting that this is the same governance structure that is used so successfully by the Forum Secretariat, with their Forum Officials Committee playing the same role as our proposed Governing Board. Finally, I would like to comment that I do not believe that many Pacific Ministers will have the time to attend a Board meeting every four months when we already have such an extensive workload. I would ask my Australian counterpart to recall that most Pacific Trade Ministers also have substantial other responsibilities. I myself find that the portfolio of Foreign Affairs places a great burden on my time, and my work on trade issues cannot be as extensive as I would like.

Mr Chairman, my colleagues around this table will be aware that there are two different OCTA structures before us for our consideration. The first proposal has been designed by officials from Australia and New Zealand. The second has been prepared by Pacific island officials. I would like to take this opportunity to outline briefly why FIC Ministers have decided to endorse our officials' proposal.

I feel that we Pacific Ministers have a duty to explain exactly what it is that our countries will need to make this negotiation process successful. I intend to offer a few brief thoughts, although I look forward to my colleagues adding more detail about the needs of their own particular countries. As for Solomon Islands, my greatest concern is the possibility that we might not be able to involve the groups that will be affected by a PACER Plus agreement from the very start of the negotiating process. I want every one of my countrymen that will have a stake in this agreement to have a say. And I believe that this must happen before my country's position is finalised and important decisions are made. But I am also aware of the limitations of my trade department. They are understaffed and overworked, and I have seen the extra strain that PACER Plus discussions have placed on them over the last year. But more than anything they are a very small team, and it is impossible for them to develop the detailed expertise in all of the specialised areas that we want to discuss in the context of PACER Plus. This expertise will be vital to support national consultations. Support will be needed to help stakeholders to understand these technical areas, and more importantly, how technical provisions of a trade agreement will affect them in practical terms. I want to be clear that national consultations in Solomon Islands will be driven by my government, but we will require support from our OCTA. And we will need staff to travel to Honiara throughout the negotiation process to provide the expertise that it makes no sense for us to develop in such a small department. But we all know the state of transport links in the Pacific, and we know that regularly visiting the fourteen Pacific island countries is no small task. For an OCTA to do this properly will require a substantial staff and a sizeable travel budget. These needs have been carefully assessed by the Forum Secretariat, and Pacific Ministers believe that the budget that Pacific officials have prepared now reflects the minimum needs of our countries.

Of course, I could not discuss the budget of the OCTA without acknowledging the generous offer made by Australia and New Zealand to provide more than one million Australian dollars per year to fund the OCTA's activities. On behalf of all Pacific Ministers, I would like to express our deep gratitude not only for this proposal, but also for the understanding of our needs that it represents. I would like to reassure my counterparts from Australia and New Zealand that Pacific Ministers fully understand that no country has unlimited resources, and that we do not expect your governments to contribute to the OCTA beyond your means. However, we have to recognise that the minimum needs of Pacific island countries cannot be met within this budget. It is for this reason that Pacific Ministers have agreed that funding of the OCTA must be kept open to all donors. I am delighted to note that both TradeCom and the Commonwealth Secretariat have already indicated that they will consider contributing to the office. I have every confidence that additional donors will be able to supplement the very important contribution that Australia and New Zealand are able to make to the OCTA. And I believe that an open funding arrangement will allow donors to better coordinate their support to Pacific island countries, in accordance with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

Mr Chairman, I have already taken enough of the meeting's time. I look forward to an honest and positive exchange of views on each of these subjects, and I have every confidence that all Forum Members will be able to reach agreement on these matters before this meeting has ended.