Pacific Island states are calling for greater mutual recognition of qualifications between Pacific countries and Australia and New Zealand in the hope that it would boost labour mobility.
Matangi Tonga reports the calls were made during regional discussions on the proposed Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER Plus) in Auckland last week.
The discussions were attended by representatives from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Currently, many qualifications from the Pacific Islands are not recognised or only partially recognised in New Zealand and Australia.
Matangi Tonga says qualifications from the University of the South Pacific are only recognised if high grades are scored.
According to the Pacific Islands Forum, the objective of the seminar was to consider a regional framework that recognises qualifications and to assure the mobility of qualified workers.
