29 Nov 2007

New Zealand provides financial backing for Pacific Regional Security Fund

4:14 pm on 29 November 2007

The New Zealand Government is to contribute around four hundred thousand US dollars towards the Pacific Islands' Forum Regional Security Fund in the coming year.

The Secretary General of the Forum, Greg Urwin, says the Fund enables the Forum to respond to difficult and tense situations in the region.

He says in addition it helps the body coordinate regional security initiatives in keeping with the broad security mandate endorsed by Biketawa Declaration.

Mr Urwin says in the past year the Fund has paid for two meetings of Pacific Foreign Ministers, an Eminent Persons Group mission to Fiji and an independent study of Fiji's electoral process.