Vanuatu's minister of foreign affairs, Alfred Carlot, says the African Caribbean and Pacific group of countries must work together to get increased foreign assistance from the European Union.
The ACP council of ministers will hold sessions today, before meeting with Ministers from the EU later this week.
Mr Carlot says he will be talking to ACP ministers today about the coconut and copra trade and Europe's ban on kava.
He says the financial crisis isn't only hitting Europe.
"We always regarded Europe as the place where we get assistance from. Europe has been distancing itself but it's about time Vanuatu gets together with [the] ACP. And together, we work together."
Alfred Carlot says the ACP is increasingly relevant to the Pacific.
