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Pacific Briefs
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Posted on Mar 26 2001
ADB presses islands to reform economies
MELBOURNE, Australia (PIR) — Officials of the Asian Development Bank approved a new aid strategy for Pacific Island nation members the focuses on public sector reform and private development.
Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will undergo poverty reduction through social and infrastructure investments, the bank said.
More private sector growth and financial restructuring is need for the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, officials said.
The strategy for the atolls of Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu will focus on the establishment and expansion of trust funds.
Fiji tourism report disputed
SUVA, Fiji (PIR) — Recent reports of hotel workers losing their jobs have been gravely misinterpreted, said Tourism Minister Konisi Yabaki.
The country’s tourism industry has made significant strides forward this year following the decline in visitor arrivals after the May coup, Yabaki said.
The Fiji Visitors Bureau said tourist arrivals have improved significantly since last September after travel advisories by Australia and New Zealand were lifted.
Still, the numbers are about half of what was recorded before the coup.
US team to take WWII remains home
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PIR) — Twelve members of the US Army are in Milne Bay province to remove the remains of American soldiers who were killed during World War II.
Local villagers discovered a bomber and ammunition along with human remains at a crash site, located in the province’s rugged eastern mountain range.
The names of the airmen are not known.
Milne Bay was a major Pacific battleground during World War II.
Guam reviews Pohnpei food ban
HAGATNA, Guam (PIR) — Health officials said more examination needs to be done in Pohnpei before they can lift a ban on imported food from the island state.
Pohnpei was declared cholera-free last month following an epidemic that killed 20 people and sickened 3,800 people since last April.
The last cholera case in Pohnpei was reported in January.
There is a likelihood that the ban will be lifted, said Public Health Director Dennis Rodriguez.
