1. Governments and Administrations are advised that a Technical Meeting to assess the feasibility of establishing an Internet-based information system for the Pacific Region will be held at SPC Headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia, 24-25 April 2002. This meeting is being funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

2. The principal objectives of the technical meeting are to:

- determine whether the national statistics offices of the Pacific Islands wish to support the use of DFID funding to establish an Internet-based information system for the region; and, if so,

- to determine what form such a regional information system should take. 

3. The technical meeting organiser will be Mr Garth Parry, SPC Statistician who will be responsible for the overall conduct of the meeting. The technical meeting secretary will be Mme Tatiana Stepanoff who will be responsible for administrative arrangements. The contact details for these SPC officers are as follows:

4. A provisional agenda for the technical meeting is circulated with this Meeting Announcement (see Provisional Agenda). Any comments or suggestions for variations to this, which Governments and Administrations may wish to propose, would be welcomed. These should reach the technical meeting organiser no later than 16 April 2002.

5. The proposed technical meeting working hours are from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Registration will be from 15:00 pm on Tuesday 23 April for early arrivals and again from 7:30 am on Wednesday 24 April.

6. Governments and Administrations are asked to provide the name, title, facsimile address and Internet e-mail address (if available) of their nominee, no later than 16 April 2002. Nominations should be sent by facsimile.

7. As the official participants at the technical meeting will be asked to indicate whether the national statistics office or equivalent would be prepared to supply data on an on-going basis and to an extent that would make a regional information system viable, it is expected that the person responsible for statistics (or their delegate) would be the nominee of each Government or Administration.

8. In order to facilitate the exchange of information, I would welcome your approval to communicate directly with nominees. Unless I hear from Governments or Administrations to the contrary, it will be assumed that there is no objection to this

9. Representatives of regional and international organisations and agencies with an interest in improving the range and accessibility of key information within the region will be welcome as observers to the Technical Meeting. The Secretariat will assist with accommodation bookings for observers, but SPC will not be responsible for any costs associated with their attendance at the Technical Meeting.

10. The SPC will provide to Pacific Island Government and Administration nominees who will be attending the Technical Meeting:

- round trip economy class (or, if available, excursion) airfares to Noumea by the most direct route;

                    - per diem at standard SPC rates for necessary overnight transit stops en route;

- per diem while in Noumea at the standard SPC rate – this is currently under review, but will be not less than 14,800 CFP per night.

11. If participants choose to fly by an alternative routing to that provided by the SPC, the participant or their Government or Administration will be responsible for any additional cost.

12 Governments and Administrations may nominate more than one participant for the Technical Meeting, but all costs for the additional nominee(s) will be the responsibility of the Government or Administration concerned.

13. The Secretariat will be responsible for the accommodation arrangements for SPC-funded delegates (unless delegates explicitly inform the Secretariat to the contrary). Delegates receiving per diems from SPC will be responsible for payment of their hotel accommodation. Upon request, the Secretariat will also make the necessary hotel reservations in Noumea on behalf of other delegates or observers. Contact Tatiana Stepanoff for assistance with accommodation reservations.

14. It would be appreciated if Governments and Administrations would arrange for the submission of a brief Country Statement on the current state of Internet usage by the national statistics office and other agencies responsible for disseminating key statistics. Country statements should not exceed 2,500 words in length, and a single copy of the statement should reach the technical meeting organiser or secretary no later than 16 April.

15. Due to the very limited notice given to our interpretation services, SPC will not be in a position to provide French interpretation for this technical meeting. Governments and Administrations are asked to note that it will be conducted in English only. However, the working papers will be translated into French prior to the meeting, and the summary report from the Technical Meeting will be available in both French and English.

16. A visa to enter New Caledonia is compulsory except for citizens of Australia (and all Australian passport holders), Canada, Japan, New Zealand (and all New Zealand passport holders), USA (and all USA passport holders) and European Union countries. French Embassies/Consulates are situated in Australia (Sydney and Canberra), Fiji (Suva), New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington), Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby), Samoa (Apia) and Vanuatu (Port Vila). It would be appreciated if delegates from the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu would make every effort to obtain a visa from their nearest Embassy/Consulate prior to departure. If this is not possible, the SPC will attempt to arrange for a visa to be issued on arrival in Noume providing that the Secretariat is advised of the delegate’s name as shown in their passport, flight number and dates of arrival/departure at least two weeks prior to arrival to prepare the supporting documentation.

17. The Secretariat does not insure participants while attending the technical meeting or during travel to and from New Caledonia and will not be responsible for any expenses arising out of sickness, injury, other disability or loss of life.

Ms Lourdes Pangelinan

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