Tonga will present a proposal in a bid to have the PACER Plus office established in Tonga.
The proposal will be discussed during the Pacific Trade ministers’ meeting in Samoa in August.
Tonga and Vanuatu are vying to get the opportunity to become a permanent home for the secretariat.
The Ministry of Labour and Commerce’s CEO Edgar Cocker told Kaniva News this was too early to be publicly released.
“We are interested to host the Pacer Plus Secretariat. Tonga and Vanuatu are both interested, however, that matter is yet to be discussed in greater details during the up-coming Trade minister’s meeting in Samoa early August .”
The region-wide free trade agreement was signed in Tonga in 2017.
It has been hailed by proponents as a new kind of agreement that links development to trade to boost island economies.
Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Niue, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Cook Islands had signed the deal agreement.
Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu refused to join.
However, three months later Vanuatu signed up to PACER Plus trade deal in Samoa.
