Tuvalu and Small Island States - National Development and Anti Corruption Strategies
The article also appeared in the Fiji Times of Feb 12, 2022 Regional and global news media outlets reported that Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simon Kofe had been nominated for the Nobel peace prize by Norwegian politician Guri Melby. Mr Kofe received global media prominence during COP26 when he gave an impassioned speech (that went viral) while standing knee-deep in the sea to highlight rising sea levels due to climate change. Saving Tuvalu, Kofe said, was akin to saving the world. There is much that the smaller Pacific Island states can do, for example, in accessing climate finance to assist in climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. There is also the persuasive argument that working with non-state actors in the anti-corruption space can help these nations overcome corruption issues that inevitably creep in when huge amounts of funds are being disbursed. Non state agencies represent citizen groups in small island states and although their discussions m...