Vanuatu's foreign affairs and external trade minister, Joe Natuman, and the director general of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Dr Jimmie Rodgers, have signed an agreement to establish an SPC country office in Port Vila.
This is the second country office to be established, following the opening of a branch in Solomon Islands last year.
The new office in Vanuatu reflects the organisation's push to decentralise the delivery of its services beyond Noumea and its regional office in Suva, to move services closer to the people.
The SPC says having an in-country presence will allow more regular consultations between the host government and the SPC on programme planning and implementation.
In addition to the specific country focus, the Vanuatu office will also host part of SPC 's Regional Rights Resources Team, which undertakes capacity building in human rights in the region.
