Australia and Kiribati signed the
Kiribati–Australia Partnership for Development at the Special Forum Leaders Meeting in Port Moresby on 27 January 2009. The Partnership establishes the shared vision of the Governments of Australia and Kiribati to work together to meet common challenges and to raise the standard of living for the people of Kiribati.

The Partnership seeks to advance Kiribati's development vision as articulated in the Kiribati Development Plan 2012-2015, focusing on improving the lives of Kiribati's main assets–its people–through further development of the economy and their capabilities.

Acknowledging Kiribati's challenges of isolation, economic vulnerability and environmental fragility, the Kiribati–Australia Partnership for Development sets out three initial Priority Outcomes aiming to:

• improve basic education by supporting efforts to achieve better access to and quality of education in primary and junior secondary schools
• develop workforce skills in areas of industry demand both domestically and abroad to decrease youth unemployment in Tarawa and the outer islands
• improve growth and economic management by supporting reforms that improve public financial management, increase government revenues, reduce the cost of public enterprises and improve service delivery including through delivery by the private sector.

In September 2012, Kiribati and Australia agreed to add a fourth Priority Outcome to:

• improve infrastructure services through increasing access to telecommunications and sanitation services and improving the main road network.

Annual Partnership Talks between senior officials of the two governments, reporting to Ministers, will review progress against the joint commitments and targets articulated in Priority Outcomes and implementation strategies. These talks will be timed to coincide with broader donor consultations led by the Government of Kiribati.

Further information

• Kiribati-Australia Partnership for Development (PDF 458kb)
• Implementation strategies (uploaded as completed):
  • Priority Outcome 1: Improved Basic Education
  • Priority Outcome 2: Workforce Skills Development
  • Priority Outcome 3: Improved Growth and Economic Management
  • Priority Outcome 4: Infrastructure
• Port Moresby Declaration