Thursday, 7 September, 2017 - 12:00

The World Bank today laid out a series of options to accelerate economic growth in the Pacific region to create more than 500,000 new jobs and increase incomes by more than 40 percent for people in most Pacific Island countries by 2040.

The report, Pacific Possible, was launched by the Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon. Susuga Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, Victoria Kwakwa at a meeting of leaders and representatives from 17 Pacific Island nations, plus Australia and New Zealand, at the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in the Samoan capital Apia.

"Pacific Possible is not just another report, but an analytical piece of work that governments like ours will use as a platform for policy discussions and reforms to deliver real outcomes for our people," said Prime Minister Malielegaoi. "We are working hard to take the tourism sector in Samoa to the next level - the analysis in Pacific Possible is something we can draw on in our discussions to help make this possibility a reality."

Pacific Possible has been nearly three years in the making, and is the culmination of extensive consultations with Pacific Island and Pacific Rim governments, non-governmental organizations, academics and individuals across the region. The final, complete report presented today identifies four significant transformative opportunities for increased prosperity for Pacific countries, together with a set of recommendations for minimizing the economic impact of the biggest challenges facing the Pacific Islands over the next 25 years.

The key areas of opportunity identified by Pacific Possible include new source markets in tourism; greater labor mobility between Pacific countries, Australia and New Zealand; improved information communications and technology affordability and access; and higher incomes from more sustainable use of fisheries. Climate change and natural disasters, as well as non-communicable diseases are highlighted as the two greatest threats, while deep-sea mining is discussed as a nascent sector requiring significantly more research and a precautionary approach.

"Tourism, ICT, labor mobility and sustainable fisheries are the key sectors analyzed in Pacific Possible that represent the greatest opportunities for governments to turn possibility into reality. By focusing policy reforms and investments in these key areas they can deliver the greatest benefit for the most people," said Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank’s Vice-President for East Asia Pacific. To read the full report Pacific Possible, or view a brief summary of the report’s main findings, please visit to www.worldbank.org/pacificpossible.