Cairns Compact: Peer reviews of National Development Plans

The Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) at the Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa, on Tuesday, reiterated their commitment to the Cairns Compact which was agreed to by all Forum leaders in August 2009.
The leaders have agreed that the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is to establish and report annually in a process of regular peer reviews of the national development plans of all the member countries.
The aim of the peer reviews is to guide improvements in development coordination and to provide an opportunity for mutual learning as to how best address development challenges within each country. Two countries (unnamed) would host the first two peer reviews in the first year and these would be followed on a rolling schedule of two per year from then onward.
In deference to the fact that each country is ultimately responsible for their own development plans, the peer review will concentrate on the process rather than the content of their plans. This method will also avoid duplicating regular reviews of the plans within the individual nations.
However, the peer reviews will consider whether the plans are supported by realistic and appropriately costed budgets, realistic timeframes and based on reliable data; and whether it provides clear guidelines as to development priorities. In other words, the reviews will be a way of checking whether the plans are workable, properly budgeted for and actually put into action.
Terms of reference of the peer reviews are that both the country and their development partners will jointly take part in the review.
Administration support and technical advisory services toward the reviews will be provided by the Forum Secretariat which will also meet the major costs of the process with the support of Australia, New Zealand and other development partners. The only significant costs to the host countries will be the time of the officials consulted and of the members of the review team with the development partners on the review teams to cover their own costs.
Participating countries are in alphabetical order: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalua and Vanuatu.

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