Vanuatu is a member of the African, Caribbean and Pacific grouping.

Political dialogue

The EU's political dialogue with Vanuatu focuses on:

• protecting its vulnerable environment, especially in relation to climate change
• defending human rights and gender issues.

 

The EU and Vanuatu are discussing how to collaborate more closely in multilateral fora on these and other issues.

Aid and cooperation

The Country Strategy Paper for 2008-13 provides a budget of €23.2m from the 10^th  European Development Fund (EDF).

The main focus areas for EU assistance and cooperation are:

• economic growth and job creation, especially the private sector
• policy development for agriculture and tourism
• business support services, especially in rural areas
• commodity exports
• long-term secure access to land
• climate change – funded by the Global Climate Change Alliance, including building resilience to climate change (with the University of South Pacific).

 

The EU has also provided a total of €16.1m in General Budget Support for poverty reduction, reforming public finance and strengthening governance.