Nabilah Safira
TechInPacific – United States Ambassador Joseph Cella has invited Tuvaluan High Commissioner Temate Melitiana to sign the Tuvalu-United States Investment Incentive Agreement on Wednesday (28/10).
“It was my honor to sign the Tuvalu-United States Investment Incentive Agreement to build an economic bridge between our nations,” Cella commented on the signed agreement.
Access to full range investment support is expected from U.S International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) or formerly known as the OverseasPrivate Investment Corporation (OPIC).
According to Cella, there is room for growth and plenty of opportunities for the ‘trade between Tuvalu and the United States’, which is currently less than $1m a year.
“In Tuvalu, there is significant infrastructure activity with the help of the multilateral development banks and donor community in climate change resilience, port upgrades, ICT connectivity, renewable energy, and health care,” Cella explains.
The agreement will provide DFC the legalities to mobilize the private investment, which hopefully advances the development and goals of Tuvalu’s economics. The covered sectors would be the energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology, as well as financing in emerging markets that account the environmental, human, and worker rights.
In practice, DFC can share all of its investment tools, from debt and equity financing, insurance, to technical support. The agreement also rules details on tax regulations and legal formalities common in multilateral development banks and foreign governments.
