Compliance support infrastructure and services - Australia

Australia established and is supporting the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program (PHAMA) to provide practical and targeted assistance to help Pacific island countries manage regulatory aspects associated with exporting primary products (including fresh and processed plant and animal products). This includes gaining access for their products (such as fresh coconuts and chilies) into new markets, and helping to manage issues associated with maintaining and improving existing trade. Australia and New Zealand are markets of major interest, along with export markets beyond the Pacific. The core countries assisted through PHAMA include Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. PHAMA also provides assistance to other Pacific island countries through the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Land Resources Division.

In partnership with the Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and World Bank, Australia is assisting the Philippines’ Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Centre to develop a pipeline of well-prepared infrastructure projects that would be attractive to private sector investors. The PPP Centre serves as the central coordinating and monitoring agency for all PPP projects in the Philippines. It is also helping to create a better regulatory and institutional framework for PPPs. The Centre has so far awarded nine projects worth approximately US$3 billion. In April 2015, The Economist Intelligence Unit recognised the Philippines as the most improved country in Asia-Pacific for PPP readiness.

This is a multi‑donor trust fund supporting trade and investment in Laos. The program provides technical assistance in five key areas: (i) trade facilitation; (ii) sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT); (iii) export competitiveness and the business environment; (iv) capacity in trade policy, trade agreements, and global opportunities; and (v) the capacity of trade‑related ministries and agencies. Other participating donors are the EC and the World Bank.

Australia has partnered with the Institute for International Trade (University of Adelaide) and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) to train officials from developing countries and least developed countries in the process of undertaking domestic reforms that improve the services sector’s contribution to their economies. These training initiatives are also helping developing countries build their capacity for services trade negotiations.