Thank you  M[x] President,

1. I take the floor on behalf of the members of the Pacific Islands Forum with presence at the United Nations.

2. We are pleased to support the Pacific Multi-Country Programme Document presented to the Executive Board for approval. UNDP has consulted carefully across the region to ensure that its programme genuinely reflects national and regional priorities.

3. We would particularly like to acknowledge the genuine challenges of covering such diverse geographies and needs in one strategy. Multi-Country Offices deserve more recognition – particularly when they cover multiple time-zones in an area where travel is difficult and countries whose populations range from 1,500 to almost a million people. We commend the work of UNDP staff in the Pacific to the attention of the Administrator.

4. We particularly appreciate UNDP’s efforts, as part of the broader UN strategic planning process, to align its work in the coming five years with the goals of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent – the overarching regional vision agreed by Pacific leaders.

5. We are therefore pleased to endorse the MCPD and appreciate the work of UNDP in preparing it. We look forward to working with them on its implementation.

6. In my national capacity I would also like to welcome the Multi Country Programme’s Fiji component – especially its focus on innovative and catalytic financing.

7. We commend UNDP for holding consultations with our government, partners, private sector, development partners, and civil society organisations.

8. We look forward to continuing this collaborative and cooperative approach in Fiji for the sake of peace and prosperity in our country and the Blue Pacific Continent as a whole.

Vinaka – I thank you.