PM off to Noumea with officials

The Prime Minister Henry Puna is leading a delegation to New Caledonia next week for a regional meeting of Ministers of Energy, ICT, and Transport. The joint ministerial gathering will be at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Headquarters in Noumea, 4-7 April. Hopping aboard the team are the PM’s advisors Ed Pittman and Repeta Puna, as well as Pua Hunter of the ICT Division, and Secretary of Transport, Aukino Tairea.
According to the SPC, the purpose of the series of meetings is to brief and advise Ministers for these sectors on initiatives led by the Secretariat to strengthen the multidisciplinary approach of regional solutions that complement national efforts to achieve energy security, ICT for development and regular, reliable, affordable, safe and secure regional transport services.
A combined opening plenary will be followed by individual ministerial meetings of energy, ICT and transport officials as well as a closing plenary.
A special ICT Ministerial Forum is also scheduled for Monday 11 April that will allow ICT Ministers to meet with the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The outcome document from the joint ministers’ meeting will be tabled to inform the SG of the ICT challenges, issues and direction provided by ICT Ministers for the development of ICT as a key tool for sustainable development in the region.
The SPC’s Economic Development Division, which is a new division based in Fiji, is developing a strategic plan with objectives that are derived from the energy, ICT and transport frameworks’ thematic areas. Infrastructure will be incorporated at a later date either as a separate programme or a cross-cutting function.

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