The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in the South Pacific

In the South Pacific, it takes patience to develop a state politically and economically. Countries such as the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu tend to be seen as “failing states”. In Fiji and Papua New Guinea, too, the situation is politically unstable. In both countries, the tough political crises in 2006 culminated in a change of government the following year. Fiji came first, when an interim government assumed power in December 2006 after a military coup. Its traditional trading partners responded by imposing a boycot, and the tourist industry has been suffering major losses ever since.

A new government also took office in Papua New Guinea. Although elections in mid-2007 brought in new faces, the country’s leadership remained in the hands of the established local elites. Unlike Fiji, Papua New Guinea witnessed strong economic growth in 2007, above all because of rising global prices for copper and gold, which it exports, and expanding investment in the building sector.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has focussed its activities in the South Pacific primarily on the trade unions in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. In both countries, trade unions are among the few well-functioning institutions, capable of contributing to social and political stabilisation. In cooperation with the Fiji Trade Union Congress (FTUC), the FES recently held workshops aimed above all at women and young people with the goal of improving the trade unions’ organisational capacity. A number of events in 2008 have been designed to raise awareness of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the EU, to discuss the impact these Agreements are having on the economic situation of FTUC members and their industrial rights, and to formulate proposals for a socially balanced Agreement.

The South Pacific is supervised by our office in Jakarta, Indonesia.