The Pacific Fund
The Economic, Social, and Cultural Cooperation Fund for the Pacific, known as « The Pacific Fund » is France’s main cooperation instrument in the Pacific. Financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Pacific Fund contributes through this cooperation with Pacific States, to New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis-and-Futuna’s regional integration.
The Pacific Fund is administered by a ten-member Steering Committee (5 representatives of the three French Overseas collectivities in the Pacific and 5 representatives of the French Government (Ministries for Foreign Affairs, Overseas Territories and the Economy and Finance). The Committee is chaired in turn by the President of the Government of New Caledonia and the President of French Polynesia, for a two year term. The President of French Polynesia has been chairing the Committee since 1 January 2016.
In 2017, New Caledonia provided 20 million XPF in co-financing to this cooperation instrument and made supporting projects in line with the priorities defined by France possible:
- Projects allowing French Overseas Collectivities to participate in the fight against climate change and natural disaster risk prevention;
- Economic and industrial projects such as feasibility studies, impact studies, training actions involving know how from French collectivities, or beneficial to them and contributing to the strengthening of regional economic exchanges;
- Health Safety (fight against endemic, non-transmissible or infectious diseases) and food safety projects.