30 Jan 2017

Vanuatu PM calls for visa waivers, tax reform at EU meeting

1:22 pm on 30 January 2017

Vanuatu's prime minister Charlot Salwai has called for short-term visa waivers and a commitment to tax reforms in a meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels this week.

The Prime Minister of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai.

The Prime Minister of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai. Photo: ITU Pictures / R. Farrell

The two sides also agreed to try and further integrate New Caledonia and French Polynesia into other regional fora, after their admission as full members of the Pacific Islands Forum last year.

They also agreed on the need to replace the Cotonou Agreement, a treaty signed between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states in 2000.

In a statement, they said a new agreement would increase the number of issues that Vanuatu, the EU, and the wider Pacific address, such as security, climate change and oceans management.

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