The European Union wants its aid and development to the region to be better targeted to the Pacific.
The EU's Post-Cotonou High Level Facilitator Pascal Lamy. Photo: AFP
The EU is preparing for the end of the Cotonou Agreement, which was signed by the 78 members of the African Caribbean and Pacific group of nations in 2000.
The EU's Post-Cotonou High Level Facilitator, Pascal Lamy, said the EU was eager to sign a new deal, but one that would have more focus on each region.
"And this implies that in terms of priorities of the partnership, issues like environmental resilience, like ocean management, like sustainable agriculture or sustainable energy, all will probably feature, because they are more Pacific specific, higher than they did in the previous partnership," said Mr Lamy.
Pascal Lamy talks to RNZI'sDon Wiseman. Photo: RNZ/ Dominic Godfrey
Mr Lamy, is touring the Pacific to gauge Pacific island countries views on what should be in the treaty.
He said the EU was keen to renew it for a number of reasons.
"Which has to do with the global presence of the European Union, with its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals within which we can have a lot of co-operation with these Pacific countries, especially given the prominent issues like climate change, ocean sustainability now have, whereas they hadn't that importance 20 years ago when the previous agreement, Cotonou, was negotiated," Mr Lamy said.
