The World Bank will prioritise climate change resilience when working with Australia and New Zealand on their Pacific engagement programmes.
Victoria Kwakwa and 'Akilisi Pohiva Photo: Victoria Kwakwa
Its vice president for East Asia and the Pacific, Victoria Kwakwa, was in Tonga last week for talks.
Ms Kwakwa said the World Bank was working closely within Australia's Step Up and New Zealand's Pacific Reset programmes.
"We've been working on several things including supporting countries to strengthen their climate change resilience, working to support policy reforms to build their economic resilience and we're also working together on the connectivity agenda," Ms Kwakwa said.
"As you know, this region is very remote, even compared to other small island states."
After meetings with private sector representatives, Ms Kwakwa said the World Bank would also look at safeguarding businesses from climate disasters.
"That's something that we need to look at. What are the other insurance products that we can bring to the table that help the private sector to safeguard their investment, their businesses and so on?"