Five senior officials from Kiribati were participated in the PACER Plus meeting that was held in Apia, Samoa from the 20th to 24th April. The officers are mainly from the Custom Administration and Enforcement Department, Ministry of Tourism and Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives (MTCIC), Ministry of Employment and Human Resources (MEHR), and the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources (MFOR).

The meeting deliberation focused on the MELA (Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning Adaptation) framework, serves as an overarching results blueprint for implementation of PACER Plus agreement for the second cycle 2026 to 2030, including the work program activities through project proposals with an alignment to trade facilitation specifically for the following components

· Rules of Origin (ROO) and Tariff

· Custom Procedures

· Sanitary Phyto Sanitary Measures (SPS)

· Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT)

· Investment

· Labor Mobility

The team had the opportunity to raise challenges encountered by local exporters with stringent importing requirements that do not support and facilitate conducive trading environment.

Finally, the team members conveyed their sincere gratitude to PACER plus for its support to allow the five senior officials to participate in this important meeting.