On 6 September Tokelau and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) signed a joint country strategy (JCS).
Honourable Foua Toloa, Ulu o Tokelau (Tokelau's head of government) joined SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers in signing the partnership agreement, which clearly articulates the priority activities that Tokelau wishes SPC to undertake across the technical sectors in which it works.These include agriculture, applied geosciences, aquaculture, disaster risk management, education and training, energy, fisheries, forestry, human development (culture, gender, youth), human rights, information and communication technology, land resources, marine ecosystems, public health, statistics for development, transport and water resources and sanitation.
The fundamental principles underlying the Tokelau-SPC JCS are country leadership, mutual respect and mutual responsibility to achieve sustainable development outcomes. The partnership gives effect to these principles in the following ways:
Country leadership - The Tokelau National Strategic Plan (TNSP) 2010-2015 will guide SPC's interventions in the areas agreed to with Tokelau.
Mutual respect - SPC and its programmes respect Tokelau's leadership in working to achieve its national development goals. The Government of Tokelau and SPC also acknowledge their accountability for the effective use of development assistance to achieve Tokelau's development goals.
Mutual responsibility - The partnership is based on mutual, long-term and measurable commitments for development results. Both the Government of Tokelau and SPC have committed to measuring performance and progress using a JCS performance framework, which draws on development indicators from Tokelau's National Strategic Plan, the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally accepted measures of development performance. This process will lead to a joint annual report to the Government of Tokelau and the SPC governing body.
The Government of Tokelau and SPC indicated that they are committed to an effective partnership that shall improve the lives of the people of Tokelau.