Delivered by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Divavesi Waqa at the International Monetary Fund Event on Cross-Border Payments for the Pacific Island Countries.
2025 World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, Washington DC, USA
Wednesday, October 15, from 2:00−3:00 PM (EST)
Distinguished Ministers,
Respected Central Bank Governors
Deputy MD Li (IMF), Vice President Jaramillo (WB), Vice President Morris (ADB)
Respected delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Warm Pacific greetings.
It is my distinct honour and privilege to say a few words at this important high-level event on Cross-Border Payments for the Pacific Island Countries.
Improving the efficiency, affordability, and safety of payments across our Blue Pacific is central to building a more inclusive and resilient regional economy. For our Pacific Island nations, payment systems are the arteries of commerce, remittances, and livelihoods. Yet today, Pacific businesses and families still face some of the highest transaction costs in the world.
The Forum Secretariat, working closely with our members and development partners — particularly the World Bank and our Pacific central banks — is taking concrete steps to address this challenge through the Pacific Strengthening of Correspondent Banking Relationships Project. The USD 77 million project is being implemented in eight Pacific Island Countries, and will soon include Papua New Guinea as the ninth member by early next year.
Within the project, there is a significant Payments Technical Assistance component focused on strengthening payment system oversight and regulation to promote interoperability and consistent standards across the region, enhanced oversight of national payment systems to ensure safety, efficiency, and alignment with international norms, and the improved collection of remittance and gender-disaggregated data to inform inclusive financial sector policies and track financial access outcomes.
Simultaneously, the project is also advancing the procurement of a firm to conduct a Feasibility Study for a Pacific Payments Mechanism — a detailed assessment to inform the design of a regional payment aggregation mechanism aimed at improving economies of scale, reducing costs, and strengthening cross-border connectivity among Pacific markets.
Given the capacity constraints and competing priorities of our Pacific Island Countries, it is essential that we leverage existing platforms such as the Pacific De-risking Group — an established stakeholder coordination mechanism that oversees and coordinates the implementation of the Pacific CBR Roadmap and related regional initiatives.
Importantly, there is a need for a coherent and focused approach by all development partners, to ensure that our member countries have clarity and oversight on the technical assistance being provided, its objectives, and how it aligns with existing regional priorities.
Only through collective effort and coordinated action can we build a more connected, resilient, and inclusive financial future for our Blue Pacific.
I thank the IMF for this opportunity, and I wish you all a very productive discussion for the next hour.
Tūbwa, I Thank you.
[ENDS]
