Ministry Statements & Speeches:
For over thirty years, our three countries have been signatories to the Joint Statement on Disaster Relief Cooperation in the South Pacific, which established the FRANZ (France, Australia, New Zealand) trilateral cooperation arrangement for humanitarian assistance in the Pacific in the event of humanitarian emergencies. Since then, the threat that climate change represents to livelihoods, security and wellbeing in the Pacific has increased significantly. Humanitarian emergencies are increasingly multi-dimensional and with implications for various sectors, including food, water and sanitation, housing, infrastructure, and health.
On the occasion of this thirtieth anniversary, France, Australia and New Zealand reaffirm their lasting commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to the Pacific when requested, and to improve regional disaster preparedness and response capabilities in partnership with Pacific countries. The FRANZ Arrangement facilitates information exchange during humanitarian emergencies to ensure the best use of our collective assets and resources in providing disaster relief with our Pacific partners.
FRANZ partners reaffirm their commitment to strengthening Pacific sovereignty and leadership by aligning our efforts to support nationally-led responses. Where and as much as possible, we will continue to support preparedness and resilience by investing in local capacity. Our three countries have been working together successfully over the last thirty years, most recently with Vanuatu in 2023, Tonga in 2022, Papua New Guinea in 2021, and Vanuatu and Fiji in 2020. We are focussed on continuing to provide coordinated, effective, and timely disaster assistance in the Pacific when requested by Pacific partners.
Noting the proliferation of health-related challenges in humanitarian emergencies, FRANZ partners agree to consider how to further strengthen regional health response capacity and enhance the coordination of our emergency health response capabilities. FRANZ partners will work towards eco-friendly practices in disaster response. Outside of emergency periods, we will continue to review progress on our commitments, share lessons learnt from operations, engage in dialogue with Pacific partners, and provide support for emergency management planning and training of personnel.