Pacific officials and stakeholders review progress of the Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap

The Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap (the Strategy) is gaining momentum, with the latest update revealing that 61% of its measures are under implementation. The Strategy endorsed by Forum Trade Ministers in 2021 is steadily progressing since the previous update from 2022 reporting that 43% of the measures were under implementation.

The good news was announced during the launch of the second Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Report 2023 at the second Pacific E-commerce Committee (PEC) meeting, held virtually on 18 April 2024. The report highlights that 23% of the 54 measures of the Strategy have been completed through 96 projects with a combined value exceeding USD 96,200,000. The report also highlights that 61% of the Strategy’s 54 measures are under implementation, which represents a notable increase from the 43% progress reported in 2022.

A notable milestone showcase at the PEC meeting was the introduction of an upgraded M&E system for the Strategy. The new system can effectively track progress across all Strategy’s levels, so that anyone visiting the Pacific E-commerce Portal can observe and appreciate live progress on implementation across its 54 Measures, 18 Strategic Outputs, and 7 Key Priority Areas. The Progress page on the Portal provides live infographics tools for enhanced visualization.

Despite lively action in the Pacific to carry out regional work on e-commerce, overall Strategy implementation should be higher. The Vice-Chair of the PEC and Board Chair of the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation, Mr Howard Politini said, “While we celebrate the achievements made so far, it is crucial to recognise that we are still far from reaching our target. Indeed, despite our collective efforts, the implementation of the Strategy falls below the expected 50% mark, which is concerning given its current lifecycle. We must examine closely which areas of e-commerce development require more attention and address the reasons for their lagging progress. Today, as we delve deeper into the 2023 M&E report, we urge all our donor partners, implementing agencies, and Forum Island Countries to redouble their efforts and commitment to advancing the Pacific E-commerce Initiative.”

The PEC meeting addressed the priorities, needs, and challenges of the private sector, drawing from the presentations and discussions held during the recent Pacific E-commerce Private Sector Sub-committee meeting in March 2024. Member countries, including Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and the Cook Islands, also shared their national e-commerce progress and needs. Updates were also provided on the governance bodies established to support the Strategy’s implementation, such as the Development Partners Sub-committee and the Pacific E-commerce Alliance.

The gathering brought together over 60 participants from Member countries, development partners and stakeholders. The next PEC meeting is scheduled for the second half of 2025.

Note: The M&E system of the Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap is embedded in the Pacific E-commerce Portal. It sources data from the Projects section of the Portal, aggregates it and provides visual representations to users on the Progress section.

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Previously posted at :

https://pacificecommerce.org/pacific-officials-and-stakeholders-review-progress-of-the-pacific-regional-e-commerce-strategy-and-roadmap/

-ACSIS