The export of 5000 metric tonnes of Nauru boulders to Tuvalu is currently underway as part of Tuvalu’s coastal adaptation project to protect the country’s newly reclaimed Queen Elizabeth II Park.
The park is being developed as part of Tuvalu’s initiative for its preparation in hosting the 2019 Forum Leaders meeting.
The purchase follows the agreement signed on the margins of the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Samoa in September.
President Baron Waqa and Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga signed the agreement on 07 September for the sale of Nauru rock boulders.
Waqa is pleased with the arrangement with Tuvalu and hopes it will be a long term relationship that is mutually beneficially to both countries.
He says the arrangement will not affect Nauru’s own coastal protection works as the Tuvalu purchase is only one-off.
“Nauru has all the rocks that Tuvalu needs and Nauru is more than happy to supply as much as Tuvalu wants,” Waqa said.
The purchase is made possible through Tuvalu’s access of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
During the agreement signing in Samoa the Pacific Island Forum’s Secretary General Meg Taylor said the initiative is an example of achievable south-to-south cooperation and partnership between smaller island states.
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