Budget support

Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni said the funding arrangement is to support Tonga's economic recovery from compounding shocks, including Covid-19, the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcanic disaster, and more recent global inflationary pressures.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed renewing the commitment to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme.

A third arrangement will see the Tonga Civil Aviation Division work more closely with Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Photo PM Press 

The arrangement covers an accountable cash grant for assistance regarding the provision of performance linked aid/budget support of AUD $4 million for 2019/20, AUD$3.5 million for 2020/21, and AUD$3.5 million for 2021/22.

The arrangement includes assistance up to AUD12 million in response to the global COVID-19 crisis, of which AUD$7 million, will be received, as additional budget support to assist the Government of Tonga’s immediate response to COVID-19.

The course is organised jointly by the Delegation of the European Union for the Pacific and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) in Fiji.

The training is being delivered by specialist trainers from Europe: Fabrice Ferrandes, Guillaume Barraut, and Nathalie Brajard.