growth?
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Tradition or growth?
As the time clock ticks away, the Pacific region stands on the cross road of what might be termed the Pacific Industrialisation Era. International markets are opening up and more markets are on the way as traditionally protection ist strongholds give way to market forces.
The Pacific’s 27 million population stands to gain in many areas, if we play our cards right. True, we do not have many cards, but we do have them.
First of all, the island nations which occupy some 29 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean are endowed with nat ural resources - fisheries, minerals and forestry to name a few.
Fisheries is perhaps at the top end of the region’s bargaining power. Through multilateral arrangements, the region’s members of the Forum Fisheries Agency in Honiara are continuing to receive hand some financial benefits from countries fishing in members’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
Talks are continuing with other Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFN) for more multilateral arrangements.
Sugar export, tourism and sustained forestry harvesting also play significant roles as foreign exchange earners for a number of countries in the region.
In some instances, these “commodi ties” earn enough foreign exchange annu ally to go around. Mineral resources also bring huge amounts of hard currency to fill national coffers.
In a way, the region has never been placed in a challenging situation. At the same time, the region can turn these chal lenges into windows of opportunities for the next decade, even perhaps the next millennium.
I believe that as the region gazes into the uncharted waters of market liberalisa tion, it is faced with two choices - capture the opportunity(ies) and reap the benefits, or squander it and all of us are in for a great shock.
With the great market liberalisation in progress, the region will face some hard realities. For example, traditional markets which offer concessions and other attrac tive “protection” on a govemment-to-gov emment arrangement will soon be opened up.
There will now be a level playing field for everyone and, hopefully, the same rules
- in Asia, the Pacific, the Americas and Europe. Markets which were traditionally open only to the region will suddenly be opened to everyone else.
Greater liberalisation in the internation al marketplace will also usher in many other factors such as quality standard and other internationally accepted require ments on export.
For the consumer this is good news.
The consumer’s purchasing power will be boosted by the confidence in the quality of the consumer item he or she is buying.
At the same time, this may mean bad news for the region. For instance, if until now we have not been very particular about the standard and quality of our prod ucts, we will have to catch up. We have to bear in mind that time lost could mean money lost.
Pacific Forum Vision is an acronym which calls on Member Governments to work together, with in resources, for the common good of the region and their peoples.
The fact that island countries produce almost the same or similar commodities is a factor that could work for or against us.
Whether we like it or not, the time has come to move together as a region as we set out into the next millennium.
Leaders of the South Pacific Forum who held their 26th summit in Madang, Papua New Guinea, must have been aware of the dilemma facing the region that they coined a “Vision” for enhancing regional co-operation for the next 25 years.
As far they are concerned, the South Pacific Forum is the paramount regional
inter-governmental organisation, strategi
cally placed to ensure this Vision materi alises. For the Leaders, the South Pacific Forum Vision is an acronym which calls on Member Governments to work togeth er, within resources, for the common good
of the region and their peoples. Here is their Vision for the next quarter century. • Forum members co-operate on the basis of equality, friendship and mutual respect - with due regard for what each can afford - in efforts to maintain security, improve living standards and ensure sus tainable development throughout the
region;
• opportunities for co-operation with other governments, non-govemmental organisations and international organisa tions, including other bodies in the Asia- Pacific, are actively pursued and devel oped; • resources, including fisheries, forestry, minerals, water and land, are developed with proper regard for conser vation, the legacy of past generations and the future; • unity in securing shared interests con tributes to the national, regional and glob al good; • material progress is matched by improvement in the quality of people’s lives, including human development, equality between women and men, and protection of children; • vulnerability to the effects of natural disasters, environmental damage and other threats will be overcome; • indigenous and other values, tradi tions and customs of the region are respected and promoted through cultural, sporting and other exchanges; • self-determination will be exercised in the remaining dependent territories, and unwelcome activities by external powers, including nuclear testing, will cease; • international economic co-operation through trade, investment and other exchanges, strengthens subsistence and commercial agriculture, industrial devel opment and competition, leading to growth - with equity, broadly-based partic ipation and capacity-building for self reliance; • openness, accountability and other principles of good government are embod ied in the practices, policies and plans of regional institutions; and • national, sub-regional and regional efforts to achieve the Forum’s Vision receive the support they require from the Forum Secretariat and other regional organisations. ■