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Showing 9 of 247 news items in Policy & Governance

Policy & GovernanceApril 23, 2025

More housing coming to Mallorca

**In a major move to address housing shortages, opposition parties in the Balearic Islands have agreed to support a bill allowing the reclassification of rural land for residential development.** The agreement, finalised by conservative and ultra-conservative groups, has been validated in Parliament and refined through amendments. The bill permits transitional rural land in towns with over 20,000 residents to be reclassified as urbanisable for housing projects. In Mallorca, seven municipalities qualify: Palma, Calvià, Marratxí, Llucmajor, Alcúdia, Inca, and Manacor. Local councils will decide on what land will be set aside for development through plenary agreements, giving them control over the process. As well, the bill expands construction possibilities on already developable land to all Balearic municipalities with populations exceeding 10,000. In Mallorca, this includes 17 towns: Palma, Alcúdia, Andratx, Calvià, Campos, Capdepera, Felanitx, Inca, Llucmajor, Manacor, Marratxí, Sa Pobla, Pollença, Santa Margalida, Santanyí, Sóller, and Son Servera.

Policy & GovernanceApril 23, 2025

Geopolitics of islands: The importance of Tiran and Sanafir

The islands of Tiran and Sanafir, at the center of historical disputes, remain strategic for trade and security in the Red Sea today, as well as a symbol of new regional balances. Long a subject of contention between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the Tiran and Sanafir islands have significant geopolitical importance for many countries in the region. Geographically, their location is strategic: they lie at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, a crucial passage connecting the ports of Eilat, Israel, and Aqaba, Jordan, to the Red Sea. Thus, one can already understand their importance for the first two parties: for the Jordanian kingdom, in fact, Aqaba is the only port it owns, the country being largely landlocked; for Israel, on the other hand, control of the islands has been of strategic importance, especially during the conflicts with the Arab states. However, the signing of peace agreements with Egypt and the subsequent beginning normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia transformed the area into one surrounded by countries now considered allies or at least not hostile.

Policy & GovernanceApril 16, 2025

Solomon Islands and Saudi Fund for Development signs landmark agreement

Photo source: © Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation ([sibconline.com.sb](https://www.sibconline.com.sb/wp-content/uploads/Development-Cooperation-Agreement-signed-between-SFD-and-the-Solomon-Islands-Government-witnessed-by-the-Prime-Minister-Hon.-Jeremiah-Manele-and-the-Deputy-Prime-Minister-Hon.-Bradley-Tovosia-2000x1479.jpg)) Excerpt from [sibconline.com.sb](https://www.sibconline.com.sb/solomon-islands-and-saudi-fund-for-development-signs-landmark-agreement/) The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has entered into its first development cooperation agreement in the Pacific region with the Solomon Islands Government, marking a historic milestone in bilateral relations. In a significant signing ceremony held today at the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, SFD Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, signed a USD 10 million agreement with the Minister of Finance and Treasury, Hon. Manasseh Sogavare. The agreement provides USD 10 million in funding from SFD to support renewable energy development in Solomon Islands, aligning with the government’s focus on sustainable and resilient infrastructure. During a meeting with Prime Minister Hon. Jeremiah Manele prior to the signing, Mr. Al-Marshad underscored the significance of the agreement as SFD’s first development partnership in the Pacific region.

Policy & GovernanceApril 16, 2025

St. Kitts and Nevis leans into international leadership with bid for seat on prominent United Nation’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Photo source: © Government of St. Kitts & Nevis ([sknis.gov.kn](https://www.sknis.gov.kn/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250404-WA0003-739x375.jpg)) Excerpt from [sknis.gov.kn](https://www.sknis.gov.kn/2025/04/07/st-kitts-and-nevis-leans-into-international-leadership-with-bid-for-seat-on-prominent-united-nations-economic-and-social-council-ecosoc/) United Nations, New York (7 April 2025) The Permanent Mission of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations informed the august body of the federation’s decision to seek a seat on the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Economic and Social Council, one of the six organs of the UN, is at the heart of the United Nations system. It holds the responsibility for coordinating the UN’s economic, social, humanitarian, and cultural activities. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals. ECOSOC is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits. The election to admit new members to the United Nations Economic and Social Council will be held on 4th June 2025 in New York. According to the correspondence transmitted to the UN from Permanent Mission of St. Kitts and Nevis to the UN informing of its candidacy to ECOSOC, “the Federation’s transformative vision to build the Caribbean’s leading Sustainable Island State by 2040 has placed it at the vanguard of resilience and sustainability among small island states. This visionary project injects impetus into our national drive to attain the Sustainable Development Goals and future-proof our society and economy. Its success is dependent on an enabling international environment and partnerships that respect ambition. Our candidature is therefore built on the theme “Sustainability, Resilience, Security,” and we look forward to working at the United Nations with a sense of urgency, and as a voice of consensus and partnership on the Economic and Social Council.”

Policy & GovernanceApril 16, 2025

Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands Strengthen Ties Through Strategic Education

Photo source: © Government of the Virgin Islands ([bvi.gov.vg](https://bvi.gov.vg/sites/default/files/styles/content_detail_photo/public/field/image/cayman2.jpg?itok=fSsGv9O1)) Excerpt from [bvi.gov.vg](https://bvi.gov.vg/media-centre/vi-and-cayman-islands-strengthen-ties-through-strategic-education) Senior officials from the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports of the Virgin Islands participated in an educational exchange and policy visit to the Cayman Islands from April 1 to 4. The Virgin Islands delegation was led by minister the Honourable Sharie de Castro, and included senior ministry officials with expertise in school leadership, early childhood care and education, special education, technical and vocational education, and curriculum development. The meetings saw officials engaging in high-level discussions, site visits, and professional exchanges with the Cayman Islands Ministry of Education and Department of Education Services to strengthen regional collaboration and advance education systems in both territories. Minister de Castro said the engagement represented a significant step forward in the Virgin Islands’ vision to transform education through regional collaboration, innovation, and shared expertise. Honourable de Castro said, “We participated in strategic meetings with senior officials from the Cayman Islands Ministry of Education, Department of Education Services, and Curriculum and Learning teams and conducted school visits to observe best practices in early childhood education, inclusive education, and technical and vocational training and engaged in policy discussions on curriculum design, teacher licensing, infrastructure management, and recruitment strategies.”

Policy & GovernanceApril 15, 2025

Palau, escaping Trump tariffs, says strong US good for Pacific

Palau, with a population of 17,000, has a compact of free association with the United States providing economic assistance in return for allowing the U.S. military access to its territory. It received [USAID funding](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-pacific-commander-advocate-most-strongly-usaid-pacific-islands-2025-04-09/) for submarine cables and climate change programmes, before most U.S. Agency for International Development staff globally were put on leave. Citing the Reagan Administration slogan of “peace through strength” that he said “Trump likes too”, Whipps said in an address at the Lowy Institute think tank that Palau’s priority was to ensure it was properly defended.

Policy & GovernanceApril 9, 2025

Heard Island and McDonald Islands, the uninhabited territory where Trump has imposed tariffs

Photo courtesy of Stephen Brown/AAD. Retrieved from english.elpais.com Donald Trump’s trade war knows no bounds. In his joint address to Congress in early March, the president disparagingly referred to “the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.” Lesotho has now been slapped with 50% tariffs. But what has come as even more of a surprise is that the list of countries included in the annex to the “reciprocal tariffs” decree [signed on Wednesday](https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2025-04-02/trump-declares-a-trade-war-on-the-world-with-universal-tariffs-of-10-and-higher-rates-on-his-main-trading-partners.html) includes small islands and territories that do not trade with the United States. Among them are Heard Island and McDonald Islands, an uninhabited Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean near Antarctica. The islands are home to sparse vegetation, insects, seabirds, penguins, and seals. But from now on, products exported (?) to the United States will be subject to a 10% tariff. The tariff is the same as that applied to all Australian imports, but the explicit inclusion of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which probably even fewer people have heard of than Lesotho, has become a source of ridicule. Heard Island and McDonald Islands have been an external territory of Australia since 1947. Heard Island is mountainous, dominated by Mawson Peak, a 9,006-foot volcano, making it Australia’s highest peak. The neighboring McDonald Islands is a small and rocky place. Both island clusters have a total area of 142 square miles, roughly half the size [of Lanzarote](https://english.elpais.com/society/2022-01-07/lanzarote-home-to-spains-stretch-of-coast-with-the-highest-number-of-illegal-hotels.html) in Spain’s Canary Islands. The islands are located about 2,200 nautical miles southwest of Perth, Western Australia. That puts them about 880 nautical miles north [of Antarctica](https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2025-02-14/worst-avian-flu-crisis-ever-recorded-spreads-across-antarctica.html) and about 2,300 nautical miles southeast of South Africa. The French territory of the Kerguelen Islands is the closest landfall and is about 240 nautical miles northwest. It takes about 10 days, depending on the weather, to reach Heard Island by ship from the Port of Fremantle, near Perth, Western Australia, according to a publication by the Australian Antarctic Program. People and cargo can also be disembarked on land by helicopter, inflatable rubber boat, or amphibious vehicle supported from a larger vessel.

Policy & GovernanceApril 8, 2025

Tokelau’s trifecta of issues: Trump’s tariffs, delayed tuna funds, and self-determination

Photo: Supplied/ Elena Pasilio. Retrieved from rnz.co.nz The initial reaction from Tokelauans to President Donald Trump’s tariffs of surprise and laughter has turned to sadness. “I’m very surprised,” Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau general manager (national) Aukusitino Vitale told RNZ Pacific. Vitale, almost lost for words, said there is really not a lot to say but, “we don’t export to the USA”. He is dumbfounded as to why small Pacific Islands nations, like Fiji that has a 32 percent tariff to its name and does export to the US, have been slammed. “We are small Pacific Island countries, and I’m finding it really difficult to understand what threat the Pacific is to US economy,” Vitale said. “We are kind of saddened because the most important thing is to assist Tokelau, being a very small nation”.

Policy & GovernanceApril 7, 2025

Hit by 50% customs duties, St-Pierre and Miquelon is the most taxed territory in the world by the Trump administration’s customs measures

Photo courtesy of BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP. Retrieved from la1ere.francetvinfo.fr “Today we begin to make America rich again,” declared Donald Trump during the press conference held Wednesday, April 2, at the White House. The American president and his administration thus unveiled a long list of countries to which new and heavy customs tariffs will now be applied. This list includes countries and territories, some of which are even uninhabited, which leaves many internet users perplexed as to how it was compiled. It includes, for example, the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, deserted and therefore not affected by any trade whatsoever with the American giant, or even with the rest of the world. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon: Few Exports and Heavy Customs Duties Another territory of interest is the fiscally independent French archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Along with Lesotho, it is the country on which the Americans impose the heaviest customs duties, namely 50% for tiny exports to the United States. How is this possible? It appears that the Trump administration’s calculation method is based solely on the 2024 trade balance, a trade balance that is not at all representative of the reality of trade for the French territory. The calculation was therefore made by taking into account the US trade deficit with each targeted territory before dividing it by the territory’s exports to them. For the archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, the year 2024 is an exception, with a single trade taking place in July, while somewhere in the United States, someone purchased 3.4 million worth of goods. Primarily seafood.