New Zealand will invest $6.2 million in a project aimed at helping the Marshalls to better prepare for and adapt to risks relating to natural disasters and climate change. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Caleb Fotheringham
Aotearoa will invest more than NZ$6 million to help the Marshalls better prepare for and adapt to risks relating to natural disasters and climate change.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, announced funding support in Majuro on Monday.
Peters, who is on a tour of the Micronesian sub-region this week, said New Zealand is committed to addressing the 'Blue Continent' challenges.
"For that reason, we are investing more in supporting a resilient and prosperous Marshall Islands," he said.
Peters said the Marshall Islands, as a nation of low-lying atolls and islands, is at the forefront of natural disasters and the impacts of climate change,
The $6.2 m project is aimed at boosting cooperation between the two nations and making island communities more resilient in the face of disasters and the impacts of climate change, he said.
New Zealand will invest $6.2 million in a project aimed at helping the Marshalls to better prepare for and adapt to risks relating to natural disasters and climate change. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Caleb Fotheringham
The New Zealand delegation is meeting Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, Minister-in-Assistance Bremity Lakjohn, Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko and other Ministers and Members of Parliament.
The delegation will travel on to the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.
Ahead of the Pacific mission, Peters said "you neglect your neighbourhood at your peril".
"Our neighbourhood is important to us in terms of our long-term security and long-term interests."