EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela addressing the first EU-Pacific Business Forum in Fiji on Friday 5 September 2025.
Photo: Delegation of the European Union to the Pacific
French Pacific Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) have received some €36 million (NZ$70m) as part of a €300m (NZ$590m) package dedicated to the Pacific region.
The package, signed under European Union’s (EU) Global Gateway programme for the 2021-2027 period, is designed to cover the sectors of ocean, climate change, environment, sustainable energy, water, sanitation and hygiene, good governance, agriculture, infrastructure and trade for the private sector.
“The European Union and the Pacific will invest close to €300m to boost sustainable economic development and resilience to climate change in the region”, the EU said in a release.
The disbursements will include regional and national investments as well as budget transfers.
While making the announcement o 5 September at a EU-Pacific Business Forum in Fiji, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela said the package was “one of the biggest investments deals ever between the EU and Pacific”.
He said the assistance “shows how much potential we see in the partnership with this region”.
Síkela held high-level talks with Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general Baron Waqa on further strengthening EU-Pacific cooperation, in areas ranging from climate resilience to digital connectivity.
“With close to €300m in new investments and budget support, we focus on Pacific priorities – from climate resilience and sustainable oceans to renewable energy, digital sovereignty, and food security.”
“These projects will bring tangible benefits for Pacific communities, while also opening new opportunities for Europe. This is what makes our cooperation different: long-term, win-win, and grounded in partnership of equals.”
Síkela said the Pacific package brings a strong focus on sectors that are “fundamental to the survival of Pacific communities”.
Pacific countries benefiting from the EU “Green-Blue Alliance for Pacific islands” package include Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Kiribati.
Pacific leaders attending the EU-Pacific Business Forum in Fiji.
Photo: Delegation of the European Union to the Pacific
The EU’s 3 ‘OCTs’: French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis-and-Futuna
Apart from those countries, there was a special focus on what the EU terms its associated “Overseas Countries and Territories” (OCTs): French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis-and-Futuna, who have a special relationship to the EU because they are associated with France.
As part of the Pacific package, the three French Pacific OCTs will receive €36 million (NZ$70m) as part of the package dedicated to the Pacific region.
French Polynesia’s President Moetai Brotherson said the package for the OCTs placed a focus on strengthening food security and self-sufficiency of local food production resources to reduce dependency on imports and promote sustainable and resilient food systems for the benefit of the local population’s health.
Through their European OCT status, the three Pacific OCTs can also benefit from specific funding from the EU, including European investment programs in the areas of food security, renewable energy, and sustainable tourism.
The EU also announced last week that for the 2028-2034 period, the 13 OCTs worldwide (including the three French Pacific territories) will receive one billion Euros. About half of this sum will be dedicated to Greenland.
Nouméa-based French Ambassador for the Pacific Véronique Roger-Lacan, who was in Nadi during the two-day meeting, said the three French Pacific territories “represent 1.3 percent of the population of the Pacific islands, but they weigh a quarter of the region’s GDP”.
The EU’s meeting with Pacific countries comes just days ahead of the opening of the Pacific Islands Forum’s annual leaders meeting this week in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara.