PCREEE to be hosted by the Pacific Community in Nuku’alofa, Tonga

Based on the generous offer of the Government of Tonga, SPC has agreed to locate its hosting of the hub for the PCREEE Secretariat in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, side by side with the Ministry for Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC), in conjunction with SPC’s effort to strengthen its in-country presence in member states and territories.

The Government of Tonga agreed to provide office space and a number of staff for the centre. An abbendum to the existing Memorandum of Understanding between SPC and Tonga will be signed to reflect this special partnership.

PCREEE was developed between 2014-2015 in the context of a consultative preparatory process, which included the execution of a needs assessment and the development of the project document on the technical and institutional design of the centre. The documents were validated during a regional workshop held from 12-13 March 2014 in Nadi, Fiji. The Second Meeting of Pacific Ministers of Energy and Transport, held from 2 to 4 April 2014, in Nadi, Fiji, endorsed the establishment of the PCREEE.

It was agreed by the Ministers to select the host organisation of the centre through a competitive selection process. Interested and qualified regional and national institutions were invited by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) to submit their applications in line with the established bidding and evaluation framework. Based on an independent evaluation by a consultant, the selection panel - comprising countries and development partners - recommended the Pacific Community (SPC) as the host organization of the PCREEE. The recommendation was adopted by the Pacific Ministers of Energy and Transport in September 2015.