The European Union is fronting $951,795 to assist Samoa with the upcoming Small Island Developing States (S.I.D.S.) conference.
In an interview with the Samoa Observer, the Head of the European Union (E.U.) Delegation for the Pacific, Ambassador Andrew Jacobs said the €300,000 will go towards paying for some of the operational costs of the conference.
“We are very pleased to have been able to do that,” he said.
“I believe that we are the largest donor to the Small Island Developing States throughout the world.
“So we have a clear interest in working very closely with them to make sure that the challenges that they face are approached in the best possible way.”
Turning to Samoa Ambassador Jacobs said one thing the E.U. was particularly pleased about in regards to the Union’s cooperation with Samoa was the budget support programme.
“(It) has been effective,” said the Ambassador.
“We moved to budget support in Samoa a few years ago, which means we channelled our funds directly into the treasury account rather than just fund technical assistance.
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“So we provide the Government with money to do whatever they need to do with the money.
“Those funds should help them to achieve objectives that we agree with…in the water and sanitation sector, reforms that need to be undertaken.
“It has worked very well because we are not coming in then as a donor imposing what we feel should be doing on Samoa.”
Instead, Ambassador Jacobs said, the E.U. was working within the frame of the Government strategy for water and sanitation.
“We are providing funds to the Government to enable them to actually achieve the objectives they have set themselves in terms of reform,” he said.
Beyond Samoa, Ambassador Jacobs said the E.U. is the biggest provider of development assistance in the world.
“The Pacific is an area where there are clear development challenges and we certainly have a role to play,” he said.
“Quite honestly, from a political point of view, the Pacific is an important player and there are United Nations votes here.
“(So) we are working very closely, strategically with a number partner countries and we will continue to help intensify our relationship.
“We are quite keen to move away from this relationship of donor–beneficiary, to move much more towards a partnership of equals.
“To work towards together on things like climate change on global security challenges and so on and it working quite well.”
He said this is why S.I.D.S. was an important conference for the E.U. “We have the President of the European Commission Mr (Jose Manuel) Barroso who is going to be coming,” said Ambassador Jacobs.
“He will be making an speech in the opening session with the (U.N. Secretary General) Ban Ki Moon.
“And Commissioner (Andris) Piebalgs will also be there for the European Union, it is a very important event.”
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