Leaders call for regional Ocean Science Centre

Leaders call for regional Ocean Science Centre as Conference of the Pacific Community concludes

28 July 2017

Noumea, New Caledonia – Pacific Island countries and territories at the Pacific Community’s (SPC) 10th governing body conference in Noumea have called for the establishment of a Pacific Community Centre for Ocean Science.

The centre, to be hosted at SPC, will draw on the scientific and technical expertise across the organisation’s different work programmes including fisheries and geoscience, and look to complement on-going regional efforts for the sustainable management of the Pacific region’s oceanic resources.
The decision was made as SPC’s 26 country and territory members deliberated on the strategic direction of SPC as the organisation marked its 70th year of operations.

The more than 40 country and territory representatives - including several Heads of State – as well as development partners contributed to the thematic discussion centred on the theme Innovative Partnerships for Sustainable Development, with keynote addresses by the President of the Republic of Marshall Islands, H.E. Hilda Heine; the European Union’s High-Level Facilitator for out-reach activities on the Post-Cotonou Agreement, Pascal Lamy; and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano.

In this regard, Pacific Island representatives congratulated SPC on its technical cooperation agreement with IAEA and encouraged further exploration of innovative partnerships to support sustainable development priorities and efforts in the Pacific Islands region.

They recognised SPC’s achievements over the past 18 months and has encouraged the organisation to continue of its path of prioritisation with a focus on high impact areas consistent with its mandate and capabilities.

The Conference also re-appointed Dr Colin Tukuitonga as Director-General of the Pacific Community for a further two-year term.

The Tenth Conference of the Pacific Community concludes tonight with a 70th Anniversary celebration with its 26 member countries and territories and partners.

Cook Islands will host the Eleventh Conference of the Pacific Community in 2019.

About Us:
The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, proudly supporting development since 1947. It is an international development organisation owned and governed by its 26 country and territory members: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna.

Useful link:
www.spc.int
CRGA 47 and 10th Conference of the Pacific Community website

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