Clark confident of Pacific cooperation deal

PORT MORESBY - Prime Minister Helen Clark is upbeat about the chances of Pacific Forum members signing up to a regional co-operation plan.

The forum's secretary-general, Australian Greg Urwin, is also optimistic that it will be endorsed when the 16 member nations meet today.

New Zealand and Australia are encouraging leaders to endorse the Pacific plan at the annual regional summit. But a meeting of civil groups, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), warned that the plan could have negative impacts and called for it to put on hold. It includes 22 initiatives for implementation from 2006-08, many on trade liberalisation.

Representatives of national and regional organisations in the Pacific, also in Port Moresby for a conference, issued a communique calling for a freeze on further liberalisation and for the plan to be rejected.

Helen Clark said that was not the sentiment of leaders.

"The soundings I'm taking from Pacific leaders is generally it's looking very positive," she told reporters.

"There's been so much work done on it by the forum secretariat and by individual member governments, so much consultation. I think it's got up a head of steam but it's going to be an evolving story, [it] will be under continual review. We'll keep talking."

She said that while NGO views were important, it was up to Governments to make decisions for their peoples.

Mr Urwin said that over the two days of pre-forum talks, support for the plan had been considerable. The Smaller Island States Leaders' Summit on Monday endorsed the plan.

- NZPA