Urwin said regional processes and institutions exist for the benefit of countries, and countries are encouraged to integrate them as essential components of the national policy and planning mainstream.

    "The Pacific Plan will not work if this does not happen," said Urwin.

    A new proposal on the table from the Forum Secretariat is the expansion of in-country Smaller Island States (SIS) officers' function to all Forum island countries to help make better connections between national mechanisms and regional approaches.

    The Forum Secretariat recently appointed SIS Desk Officers in Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue and Marshall Islands to provide the crucial link between the Secretariat and SIS member countries, with principal responsibility of channeling regional initiatives in the Pacific Plan into national processes.

    Appointments are soon to be made in Kiribati, Palau and Tuvalu.

    Urwin said the proposal of expanding this operative function to all Forum Island countries was well received during discussions in the meeting, "and we hope to actively pursue this initiative with our regional and national partners."

    This approach was endorsed at the recent Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific (CROP) heads meeting in Apia, Samoa.

    The PPAC meeting concludes with the tabling of the Regional Institutional Framework Review as one of the main agenda items.

    The review was undertaken by a team of consultants to further the development of a framework more appropriate for regionalism and the Pacific Plan. Enditem