The Pacific Immigration Directors’ Conference (P.I.D.C.) Board met last week in the Republic of the Marshall Islands to coordinate activities and review the delivery of its annual work plan.

The Board, consisting of the office holders, representatives of the three Pacific Sub-regions, principal donors as well as the host country Samoa discussed a range of topics including border management, transnational crime, training and migration related development especially regarding labour mobility.

Key areas of focus included ongoing collaborative efforts to strengthen border security, enhance information sharing and supporting Members to modernise and streamline immigration legal frameworks and procedures.  

P.I.D.C. Chair Nicola Hogg from New Zealand acknowledged the significant contributions of the Board Members and re-emphasised the importance of strategic coordination and effective oversight to ensure the organisation was able to meet its strategic objectives which included a safer and more prosperous Pacific.

Chief Executive Officer for Samoa Immigration, Agafili Shem Leo noted that a significant amount of work had been undertaken to support Members and noted with satisfaction the release of a recent PIDC external audit report which indicated strong governance measures and financial systems currently being undertaken by the organisation.

Agafili shared that “as current Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Samoa notes the importance of ensuring that all regional efforts are aligned and coordinated to fortify security of our Blue Pacific and to ensure maximum benefit for our communities”.

P.I.D.C. Vice Chair and Director of Republic of the Marshall Islands Immigration Mr Damien Jacklick in noting the busy P.I.D.C. calendar for the remaining months of 2017, was pleased with the efforts to advance priority work especially around strengthening regional capacity building and the development of Standard Operating Procedures.  

Director Jacklick advised that P.I.D.C. Members are looking forward to the capacity building programmes to strengthen border enforcement to be provided by the Secretariat, Australia and New Zealand as well as partner organisations. “We are especially happy with the technical expertise being provided by PIDC to strengthen the immigration laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands through support being provided to a legislative review team that is currently undertaking this important piece of work” Mr Jacklick said.

The Head of Secretariat Mr Ioane Alama welcomed the outcomes from the Board meeting and the collaborative spirit among Board Members noting that that the success of P.I.D.C. efforts was based on the close bonds between the PIDC Members and the collective need to enhance security and development opportunities for all.