MSG Secretariat

Ishmael Kalsakau, who is also chair of the MSG Secretariat, made the statement following the recruitment of two Indonesian consultants to work in the MSG secretariat in Port Vila.

"We must first look within our region if we have people with required skills," Kalsakau said.

"If the Melanesian region does not have those skill sets for any upcoming job, then we can look beyond our region," he said.

The Acting Director General, George Hoa'au, was among members of the Diplomatic Corps and senior representatives of the Government of Vanuatu and other regional institutions who attended the dawn service.

ANZAC Day is commemorated every year to remember the sacrifices of Australian and New Zealand servicemen who lost their lives in the First World War.

MSG Acting Director General, George Hoa’au said sports should not only be considered as entertainment but as an approach for development.

“The secretariat needs to work more with its members to ensure that we organise creative sporting engagement between MSG members,” Hoa’au said.

MSG Sports Development officer Henry Bill clarified that the Secretariat does not necessarily sponsor tournaments but it facilitates them.

The workshop, part of the Pacific E-commerce Initiative, is enabling trade officials across the region to unpack findings of a Pacific E-commerce assessment, and a sub-regional assessment for the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). These discussions will feed into a Pacific E-Commerce Strategy aiming to lift engagement in digital trade.

Five of the students, were part of the Law Clinic course at the University of the South Pacific’s Emalus Campus while one was a Professional Diploma in Legal Practice (PDLP) student at USP’s Laucala campus.

Each of the interns were attached with the programs of the MSG Secretariat including the Trade and Economic program, Politics and Security, Resource Management, Environment and Climate Change, Sports, Culture and Social Affairs and the Governance and Legal Affairs program.

General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat.

Mr Eafeare took up his appointment on 27 August 2017.

The new Deputy DG has a vast experience ion regional and international geo-political and development issues that will contribute immensely to the work of the MSG in implementing the mandates of our Leaders.

The study will also including feasibility of establishing an intra-MSG shipping service.

The need for the study was endorsed by MSG Leaders at their meeting in New Caledonia in 2013 and is in line with one of the recommendations in the MSG 2038 Prosperity for All Plan.

In a declaration made at the end of their meeting in Port Moresby in November 2014, the MSG Trade Ministers also made a commitment, among other things, to undertake the study by end of 2015. However due to funding difficulty, the study was deferred to later this year.

His visit was to discuss with the Vanuatu Government in preparations for the next CHOGM meeting scheduled for 2017.

Deodat Maharaj and his Economic Advisor, Harshen Nyambe met the Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Peter Forau and the Deputy Director General, Molean Kilepak and Secretariat Staff on Thursday 17 September 2015.

Maharaj said his visit to Vanuatu and to the MSG Secretariat is part of his visit to Small Island States in the Pacific who are also members of the Commonwealth group of nations.