The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade announces that Solomon Islands has now Ratified the Pacific Agreement on Close Economic Relations (PACER Plus) trade agreement.
PACER Plus is a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between 14 members of the Pacific Islands Forum and Australia and New Zealand.
It is a Trade and Economic Development agreement that aims to strengthen economic relations with the parties of the agreement.
The agreement includes trade in goods, trade in services, investment and Development & Economic Cooperation.
PACER Plus will provide tangible benefits to the Pacific Island countries and enable them to enhance their participation in international trade.
Some of the major benefits that the PACER Plus would provide for Solomon Islands are Market access, predictable regimes for trading and access to support for trade development and policy needs.
PACER Plus would also provide a platform for synergies in sustainable development.
Another of the major interests for Solomon Islands would be the labor mobility arrangement which is an annex to the Agreement.
This component will allow Solomon islander to work in Australia and New Zealand.
The Trade Agreement was negotiated between 2009 and in April 2017 when it was concluded.
Over the years that negotiations took place Solomon Islands was also the lead spokesperson for Pacific islands country to the Trade agreement.
The government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade has already notified the PACER Plus depository Box in Tonga about its ratification of the Trade agreement.
Solomon Islands amongst 8 other countries signed onto the agreement in June 2017.
Solomon Islands is the sixth country to ratify the trade agreement.