The Nauru Government is talking to aid donors about contributing to a new trust fund.
It has been in discussions with the Asian Development Bank to set aside up to two million US dollars for what it's calling the Nauru Intergenerational Trust Fund, or ITF.
Don Wiseman has more:
"The Nauru government is also talking with Australia and New Zealand as potential contributors. The government says the new fund will have no link to the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust Fund which was taken over in 2004 by receivers seeking repayment on huge debts run up by the government. The ITF will be established under international law, which the government says will ensure no administration can dip into it unilaterally. The ADB says the fund will build on the success stories from other Pacific trust funds, such as those in Kiribati and Tuvalu, and use the lessons learned from Nauru's earlier failures. The aim is not to touch the interest for 20 years to allow the money to build up so it can help contribute to the long term viability of the island once the phosphate is depleted."
