19 Feb 2008

New Zealand Prime Minister says development assistance to Vanuatu is set to increase

12:04 pm on 19 February 2008

New Zealand Prime Minister says her country's development assistance to Vanuatu is set to increase with the increased stability in the Melanesian country.

Helen Clark commended Vanuatu for its work as a development partner yesterday following a meeting with the visiting Vanuatu Prime Minister Ham Lini in Wellington.

Vanuatu is New Zealand's third-largest bilateral aid partner.

New Zealand currently provides nearly 12 million US dollars to Vanuatu as part of its overseas development assistance programme.

The leaders discussed New Zealand's ongoing assistance to Vanuatu in areas of corrections, education and policing, and ni-Vanuatu participation in New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employer or RSE scheme.

Miss Clark says Vanuatu is playing a key role in regional efforts to help maintain stability in countries like Solomon Islands and Fiji.