Ambo, Tarawa – 17 September 2025

The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development (MFOR), in collaboration with the Tobwan Waara Phase 3 Program (TWP3), convened the Kiribati–New Zealand Fisheries Partnership Meeting on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, at the KIFL Building in Ambo.

Serving as a Project Steering Committee, the half-day meeting brought together key stakeholders to review the progress, challenges, and future directions of MFAT-funded initiatives in partnership with MFOR. These include the Tobwan Waara Program, Te Pātui (in collaboration with New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries), CAB-Smart for Kiribati’s Marine Spatial Planning, and the Future Partners project supporting MFOR’s Monitoring and Evaluation Framework assessment. All of these projects sit under the Kiribati-New Zealand Ten Year Strategy for Fisheries Development 2016-2026.

The meeting was graced by an inspiring opening address from the New Zealand High Commissioner to Kiribati, His Excellency Mr. Pati, followed by welcoming remarks from MFOR Permanent Secretary, Mr. Riibeta Abeta.

In attendance were officials from MFOR, the New Zealand High Commission in Tarawa, TWP3, New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries and MFAT representatives joining virtually from Wellington.

The primary objective of the meeting was to report on the 2024 progress and financial implementation of the New Zealand–MFOR projects, identify key delivery challenges, and develop a forward-looking action plan. It also functioned as a coordinating platform to accelerate progress on the Key Result Areas and Strategic Actions outlined in MFOR’s Strategic Plan 2024–2028, ensuring alignment with the MFAT Grant Funding Agreement.

This partnership meeting underscores the shared commitment of Kiribati and New Zealand to “To Support a healthy marine Resource base and Sustainable marine resource development that provides economic stability and food security of current and future generations of I-Kiribati”