The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) will be holding a series of key trade meetings and trade events over the next two weeks in Noumea, New Caledonia.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) will be holding a series of key trade meetings and trade events over the next two weeks in Noumea, New Caledonia.
This is setting up to be an exciting and historic meeting for the MSG with Trade Ministers from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu expected to sign a revised, modern and comprehensive trade agreement known as MSGTA 3 on Monday 16 November.
Further, the region’s biggest and most exciting annual trade fair, the MSG Investment Roadshow and Trade Fair will be held from the 18th – 20th November. This is the 3rd Investment Roadshow and Trade Fair organized by the MSG.
The aim of the Investment Roadshow is to showcase the possible areas within the Melanesian countries where there are investment opportunities. Products that are produced or manufactured within Melanesia will also be showcased during the Trade Fair with the hope of establishing markets.
Both the trade meetings and trade fair will be primarily held at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Noumea, and hosted by the New Caledonia pro-independence group FLNKS – which is a member of the MSG.
Senior officials and representatives from Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have started to gather in Noumea for the final round of negotiations towards what they referred to as a much comprehensive trade agreement - MSGTA3 – that will now include Trade in Services, and new chapters such as Labour Mobility, Investment, and Telecommunications.
MSG Leaders have directed that a draft legal text of the trade agreement must be completed for adoption by the end November 2015.
This week’s meetings are being supported and funded by MSG members and the European Union, through the Pacific Islands Forum, under the Pacific Integration Technical Assistance Project (PITAP).