The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Letter of Agreement with Fiji Development Bank (FDB) formalizing a shared commitment to help the bank gain accreditation with the Green Climate Fund, a financial mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This accreditation will allow FDB to access international funding for projects that make communities more resilient to extreme weather and natural disasters. Under the agreement, USAID will provide technical assistance to bolster FDB’s policies and procedures for procuring projects and ensuring gender and social inclusion in its activities. Through these improvements, FDB will develop more effective and sustainable environmental resilience projects, conditions that will make the bank more eligible to apply for grants, loans, equity, and guarantees from the Green Climate Fund.
USAID will provide this assistance through its Ready project, which builds the capacity of governments and institutions to develop and implement effective environmental and disaster mitigation policies and strategies. Through Ready, USAID also works with the Secretariat for the Pacific Environment Program, the Pacific Community, and the Micronesian Conservation Trust, among other entries accredited by the Green Climate Fund. Throughout the Pacific region, USAID partners with community organizations, the private sector, and national governments to advance sustainable, resilient development. USAID assistance covers 12 nations: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.