USAID Mission Director for the Pacific Islands Lawrence Hardy presented certificates of completion to graduates of the Project Management course conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Fiji.

The course is delivered through USAID’s partnership with the University of the South Pacific to help Pacific Island countries become more environmentally and disaster resilient. The five-month course is helping leaders strengthen their management skills to design and implement disaster resilience projects. Class participants include mid-level managers of government departments, non-governmental organizations, and representatives from the private sector.

“The United States and Fiji share a longstanding relationship; a friendship that is based on trust and mutual interests, with our long history of defense partnerships, commercial links, and people-to-people ties,” Mission Director Hardy said. “This Project Management course builds upon our strong ties as we together promote a prosperous and stable future for the people of this country.”

Through USAID’s Pacific-wide Ready project, USAID boosts the capacity of government partners and other stakeholders to gain access to larger amounts of project funding from international donors. These funds will help countries to draft and implement policies and activities that help mitigate the impacts of natural disasters, and strengthen the skills and systems within each country to better manage and monitor funded projects.

To date, USAID has strengthened the capacity of more than 800 government and nongovernmental partners from 10 Pacific Island countries to develop effective adaptation projects to boost their country’s resilience. In addition, USAID has already helped mobilize more than $26 million from various institutions, such as the Adaptation Fund and the Global Environment Facility to support activities to boost the country’s resilience.

While in Suva, Hardy also met with Fijian government partners and other development partners from Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Australia, New Zealand, the Asian Development Bank, and United Nations to discuss mutual development goals in the region.

The United States, through USAID, partners with 11 Pacific Island countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) to bolster their ability to lead their countries to stable, prosperous futures. USAID’s assistance in the region focuses on strengthening disaster preparedness and environmental resilience, health, and democratic governance.