Vanuatu & EU signed MOU for an assistance of € 31.3 million

by Jean-Baptiste CALO 

Vanuatu is the first Pacific ACP country to sign its 11th European Development Fund (11th EDF) National Indicative Programme (EDF NIP) of an amount of € 31.3 million with the European Union on December 9th 2014 at the Africa-Pacific-Caribbean (ACP) Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.

 Foreign Affairs Minister Sato Kilman signing MOU with the EU Commissioner

Under this MOU, the EU under the European Development Fund, its main instrument for providing development aid to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and to overseas countries and territories (OCTs), has made available an envelope of € 31.3 million for specific projects concerning mainly the sector of rural development in Vanuatu for the period of 2014-2020 (under 11th EDF).

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Vanuatu Minister for Foreign Affairs, Honorable Sato Kilman Meltek Livtunvanu and the newly appointed Development Commissioner for the European Union, Neven Mimica.

In his official adress, Minister Kilman took the opportunity to thank the EU for the finalisation of that MOU and emphasised that it was a partnership between the EU and the Republic of Vanuatu.

"The Vanuatu Governement will do all it can do to carry out all that it is expected of us to do in order to honor this partnership with European Union. We will prove to the European Union that we can be a good partner", Mr Kilman said.

In his response, the EU Commissioner, Neven Mimica emphasised that it was an importance stage in the continuation of the partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Vanuatu.

"This programme frames the priorities and resources that will sustain our development co-operation partnership until 2020.  I am happy to confirm that an envelope of € 31.3 million will be available, which  represents an increase of over one third, or precisely 35% compared to the 10th EDF National Indicative Programme", Mr Mimica stated.

(Under the 10th EDF, Vanuatu got an assistance envelope of € 18.5 miliion)

He also said that he was reassured by the fact that Rural Development has been selected by the governement of Vanuatu as the single focal sector.

"It is fully in line with the EU Agenda for Change which seeks to concentrate resources in order to increase impact" the EU Commissioner added.

He went on saying that given the importance of the rural economy and agriculture in Vanuatu, the choice of "Rural Development" is very relevant.

Mr Mimica also stressed that he sincerly hope that 11th EDF support will be able to contribute in a tangible to improving agricultural livelihoods and jobs in rural areas and outer islands and thereby also help to fight poverty and limit urban drift in Vanuatu.

He also assured the Vanuatu Minister for foreign affairs that the intensity and the quality of the European Union's engagement with Vanuatu will be maintained despite the closure of the EU Mission in Port-Vila.

He explained that the EU is fully commited to the partnership with Vanuatu and has put in place the resources to support it.

"I'm satisfied with the very positive outcome of the recent political dialogque which took place in Port-Vila in 30 October 2014", Mimica said.\

He also congratulated Vanuatu for its commitment to fully cooperate with the European Commission on Illegal, Unauthorised and Unreported fishing  (IUU) activities and for its constructive approach.

"Vanuatu has made a lot of efforts to address the shortcomings identified by the European Union", Mr Mimica concluded.

The signing of the 11th EFS National Indicative Programme is an historical milestone for Vanuatu but also for the ACP because Vanuatu has become the first Pacific ACP country to sign its 11th EDF/NIP with the European Union.

And it is also symbolical due to the fact the the signature of the MOU coincides with the 100th ACP-EU Council of Ministers Meeting currently in session from the 9th to 12th December 2014.

The signing ceremony was attended by all the ambassadors, members of the ACP secretariat and members of the press from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific covering the 100th ACP Council of Ministers in Brussels, Belgium.
 

What is 11th EDF?

Created in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome and launched in 1959, the European Development Fund (EDF) is the EU's main instrument for providing development aid to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and to overseas countries and territories (OCTs).
The EDF funds cooperation activities in the fields of economic development, social and human development as well as regional cooperation and integration.
It is financed by direct contributions from EU Member States according to a contribution key and is covered by its own financial rules.
The total financial resources of the 11th EDF amount to €30.5 billion for the period 2014-2020.
In the field of the external actions of the European Union, the applicable legislation is composed in particular by the international agreement of Cotonou for the aid financed from the European Development Fund, by the basic regulations related to the different cooperation programmes adopted by the Council and the European Parliament, and by the financial regulations.