SG SPEECH/PACREIP Website Launch
SG SPEECH/PACREIP Website Launch
21 Aug 2006 20:42:06
LAUNCH OF PACREIP WEBSITE
MONDAY, 21 AUGUST, 2006
LALI ROOM, HOLIDAY INN, SUVA
WELCOME REMARKS BY MR GREG URWIN
SECRETARY GENERAL
PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT
" Hon. Minister Tavola, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade,
" Hon. Minister Tabaiwalu, Minister of State for Small and Micro Enterprises and Information Technologies Industries
" Representatives of the Diplomatic Corp,
" Representative of the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific,
" Representatives of Government Departments and Non State Actors,
" Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with very much pleasure that I welcome you all this afternoon to the official launch of the website for the Pacific Regional Economic Integration Programme - PACREIP as we know it.
May I first acknowledge, with much appreciation, the valuable support provided by the European Union in making this project possible through the funding of the PACREIP Management and Coordination Office and the work programme of the implementing agencies. The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is the contracting authority for PACREIP. The Implementing agencies include the South Pacific Tourism Organisation, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, as well as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
The overall objective of PACREIP, ladies and gentlemen, is the sustainable development of Pacific ACP States as an economically integrated region. Essentially, the objective is to increase the Gross Domestic Product and the economic growth of our national economies, by enhancing their capacity and supporting regional economic integration.
Importantly, PACREIP engages in preparations for and conduct of negotiations for the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement, or EPA, with the EU. These must be carried out in the most coherent and effective manner, with the aim of achieving outcomes that fully reflect the interests and aspirations of Pacific people. PACREIP contributes to the overall process of enhancing regional economic and trade integration not only within the Pacific region, but also globally. Pacific ACP States have accepted that this step into the world economy is a vital element in the strategy to achieve sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.
EPA negotiations between the European Union and the Pacific ACP States are now entering a critical phase as they move towards the December 2007 deadline. Because of their significant potential impact on the direction of economic integration in the Pacific, EPAs in general are critical for the region. It is also important for countries to consider the integration of trade in services, including movement of labour, into the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) and EPA arrangements. The direction taken on the issue of labour mobility in respect to arrangements under PICTA, EPA and the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) will have a significant bearing on the nature of regional integration in the Pacific.
As you can appreciate, ladies and gentlemen, there are many stakeholders involved in the important work being undertaken by PACREIP, and key to its success will be the dissemination and disclosure of information in a timely way. Every effort must be made to ensure that proper levels of awareness, understanding and knowledge are achieved, so that PACREIP objectives may be realistically accomplished.
The right to information has been recognised as being of vital importance to human rights and good governance, and has been accepted as a priority at many levels. In approving the Pacific Plan, our Leaders themselves have called for, among other things, a region respected for its governance, sustainable management of its resources, full observance of democratic values and its defence and promotion of human rights; partnerships with neighbours and beyond& to improve our understanding and communications and ensure a sustainable existence for all.
Access to information will provide a number of benefits to communities and governments by helping to:
- Underpin all other human rights;
- Support people-centred policy-making and implementation;
- Build public trust in government;
- Challenge corruption;
- Make electoral democracy meaningful;
- Boost media capacity;
- Create transparent and competitive economic environments; and
- Increase the accountability of private sectors.
So we are here today to take a preliminary step in the direction of improved communication with our stakeholders, with the launch of this important communicating tool. The PACREIP website, at the click of a button, will soon go live to audiences around the globe.
Ms Pisaina Leilua Lei-Sam, PACREIP Programme Manager, will guide you through the website pages shortly, assisted by our experts from Webmasters, to whom I must extend my appreciation and thanks. Webmasters were our local service provider and architects of this new website.
Vinaka vakalevu to Yashwant and his team. And to the PACREIP team at the Forum Secretariat, IT Department and Media Unit, my congratulations to you all for a job well done.
I leave you with an anecdote on computer users which was recently conveyed to me by an IT-savvy friend, who asserted that users, as the collective term for those who use computers, can be divided into three categories: novice, intermediate and expert. Novice users are people who are afraid that simply pressing a key might break their computer. Intermediate users are apparently those who don't know how to fix their computer after they've just pressed a key that broke it. (Can any of you relate to this?) And expert users are people who simply break other people's computers, a second time around. We have set up computers for you this afternoon to navigate the site at your leisure, so please feel free to do so. But please do not break any of our computers.
Once again, welcome ladies and gentlemen, and thank you very much for attending this launch. I now have the pleasure of inviting Mr Roberto Ridolfi, Head of Delegation of the European Commission for the Pacific, to say a few words.
Thank you.
21 Aug 2006 20:42:06
LAUNCH OF PACREIP WEBSITE
MONDAY, 21 AUGUST, 2006
LALI ROOM, HOLIDAY INN, SUVA
WELCOME REMARKS BY MR GREG URWIN
SECRETARY GENERAL
PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT
" Hon. Minister Tavola, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade,
" Hon. Minister Tabaiwalu, Minister of State for Small and Micro Enterprises and Information Technologies Industries
" Representatives of the Diplomatic Corp,
" Representative of the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific,
" Representatives of Government Departments and Non State Actors,
" Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with very much pleasure that I welcome you all this afternoon to the official launch of the website for the Pacific Regional Economic Integration Programme - PACREIP as we know it.
May I first acknowledge, with much appreciation, the valuable support provided by the European Union in making this project possible through the funding of the PACREIP Management and Coordination Office and the work programme of the implementing agencies. The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is the contracting authority for PACREIP. The Implementing agencies include the South Pacific Tourism Organisation, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, as well as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
The overall objective of PACREIP, ladies and gentlemen, is the sustainable development of Pacific ACP States as an economically integrated region. Essentially, the objective is to increase the Gross Domestic Product and the economic growth of our national economies, by enhancing their capacity and supporting regional economic integration.
Importantly, PACREIP engages in preparations for and conduct of negotiations for the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement, or EPA, with the EU. These must be carried out in the most coherent and effective manner, with the aim of achieving outcomes that fully reflect the interests and aspirations of Pacific people. PACREIP contributes to the overall process of enhancing regional economic and trade integration not only within the Pacific region, but also globally. Pacific ACP States have accepted that this step into the world economy is a vital element in the strategy to achieve sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.
EPA negotiations between the European Union and the Pacific ACP States are now entering a critical phase as they move towards the December 2007 deadline. Because of their significant potential impact on the direction of economic integration in the Pacific, EPAs in general are critical for the region. It is also important for countries to consider the integration of trade in services, including movement of labour, into the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) and EPA arrangements. The direction taken on the issue of labour mobility in respect to arrangements under PICTA, EPA and the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) will have a significant bearing on the nature of regional integration in the Pacific.
As you can appreciate, ladies and gentlemen, there are many stakeholders involved in the important work being undertaken by PACREIP, and key to its success will be the dissemination and disclosure of information in a timely way. Every effort must be made to ensure that proper levels of awareness, understanding and knowledge are achieved, so that PACREIP objectives may be realistically accomplished.
The right to information has been recognised as being of vital importance to human rights and good governance, and has been accepted as a priority at many levels. In approving the Pacific Plan, our Leaders themselves have called for, among other things, a region respected for its governance, sustainable management of its resources, full observance of democratic values and its defence and promotion of human rights; partnerships with neighbours and beyond& to improve our understanding and communications and ensure a sustainable existence for all.
Access to information will provide a number of benefits to communities and governments by helping to:
- Underpin all other human rights;
- Support people-centred policy-making and implementation;
- Build public trust in government;
- Challenge corruption;
- Make electoral democracy meaningful;
- Boost media capacity;
- Create transparent and competitive economic environments; and
- Increase the accountability of private sectors.
So we are here today to take a preliminary step in the direction of improved communication with our stakeholders, with the launch of this important communicating tool. The PACREIP website, at the click of a button, will soon go live to audiences around the globe.
Ms Pisaina Leilua Lei-Sam, PACREIP Programme Manager, will guide you through the website pages shortly, assisted by our experts from Webmasters, to whom I must extend my appreciation and thanks. Webmasters were our local service provider and architects of this new website.
Vinaka vakalevu to Yashwant and his team. And to the PACREIP team at the Forum Secretariat, IT Department and Media Unit, my congratulations to you all for a job well done.
I leave you with an anecdote on computer users which was recently conveyed to me by an IT-savvy friend, who asserted that users, as the collective term for those who use computers, can be divided into three categories: novice, intermediate and expert. Novice users are people who are afraid that simply pressing a key might break their computer. Intermediate users are apparently those who don't know how to fix their computer after they've just pressed a key that broke it. (Can any of you relate to this?) And expert users are people who simply break other people's computers, a second time around. We have set up computers for you this afternoon to navigate the site at your leisure, so please feel free to do so. But please do not break any of our computers.
Once again, welcome ladies and gentlemen, and thank you very much for attending this launch. I now have the pleasure of inviting Mr Roberto Ridolfi, Head of Delegation of the European Commission for the Pacific, to say a few words.
Thank you.
