In July 2001, ESCAP advised island governments and PROs, that ESCAP intended to send a mission to the Pacific Region and would entertain requests for specific technical assistance related to sustainable energy development. Requests for assistance were received from six countries, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Kiribati. The request from Vanuatu was for a technical consultancy on geothermal energy and will be fulfilled separately by a consultant contracted by ESCAP. In September and October, the remaining five countries were visited by a representative from the ESCAP Energy
Resources Section and technical consultants. During that mission, an added objective of ESCAP was to assess the needs of the PICs for external assistance and to investigate options for future involvement in the Pacific sub-region by ESCAP. Following the missions to the Pacific, a meeting was scheduled to be held in February, 2002, of PIC energy officers and PRO officers to discuss the needs of the Pacific for energy programme assistance, including how ESCAP can best assist in filling those needs.
