International trade issues have become a key focus of Secretariat's Economic Governance Programme attention.

Main activities include:

(a) Facilitating Forum Island Country (FIC) participation in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and assisting FICs to promoting their interests in WTO multilateral trade negotiations, especially through the Office of the Forum Permanent Representation to the WTO in Geneva, established with the assistance of the European Union;

(b) supporting FICs as Pacific members of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group in their Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with the European Union and co-ordinating EPA-related activities at the regional level; and

(c) conducting studies and related work relative to possible trading arrangements between FICs and other countries/trade groupings beyond the region.