Pacific Islands -Institutional Capacity Building for Labor Export in the Pacific The program aims to strengthen the institutional capacity of labor-sending Pacific governments to effectively and efficiently regulate, manage and benefit from the temporary movement of unskilled labor into neighbouring developed countries. This will involve: 1. Developing an appropriate legislative framework to support the circular flow of seasonal migrant workers; 2. Providing adequate pre-departure training, awareness and re-orientation program; 3. Developing a database of workers for monitoring and evaluation. To strengthen the institutional capacity of labour-sending Pacific governments to effectively and efficiently regulate, manage and benefit from the temporary movement of unskilled labour into neighbouring developed countries.  At the global level, the importance of migration in addressing poverty alleviation is increasingly being recognized. In the Pacific, the World Bank, is at the forefront of the migration policy dialogue and important progress has been made in opening up developed country markets to temporary workers from the Pacific.  However, as we know from our vast experience in liberalizing trade in goods, market access does not always translate into market entry without attention to trade-facilitation measures Â– also known as Â“behind-the-borderÂ” issues Â– which the Bank is increasingly supporting with analytical and technical assistance.. Similar assistance is now needed by labour-exporting countries, particularly the small remote islands in the Pacific which face challenges in building up the capacity to create the public goods that are needed for labour export.  The development benefits of greater access of unskilled Pacific workers to external labour marketsÂ—particularly for countries which have had limited migration optionsÂ—are threefold. At the individual level, the migrant worker who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed in his/her home country now has a job and income as well as new skills that can be brought home. Access to external labour markets may be their best chance for earning a livelihood.  At the household and community level, remittances are found to have reduced poverty and have served a social protection role by providing a consumption cushion for the poor and vulnerable populations in the Pacific. Where the poor or unskilled have migration options, remittances tend to benefit the poorest, resulting in improved income distribution. Remittances have also been used to finance education and result as well in some increase in business activity. Non-migrant households and churches also receive some remittances, pointing to the multiplier effect of labour mobility in the Pacific. (At Home and Away, World Bank, 2006) Few instruments offer such a direct impact on improving the welfare of the poor.  At the national level, remittances have provided a stable source of foreign exchange (overshadowing FDI and ODA) and have supported the balance of payments which is highly susceptible to terms of trade shocks. Remittances in the Pacific (42% of GDP in Tonga, 27% in Samoa and 7% in Fiji, in 2005) have been steadily increasing at an average of 27% for the period 2000-05. In addition to financial remittances, mobility for unskilled labour can improve social equity in sending countries, reduce social tensions, and create a larger constituency for economic growth and governance reform.  For these remote island countries where the economic base is narrow, population growth is escalating and the cost disadvantages of size and location is formidable, migration and remittances becomes an important tool for development. It is also becoming urgent as rising social tensions resulting from large groups of restless unemployed youth (about 40% of population) can exacerbate the fragility of the state. By strengthening the institutional capacity to successfully manage labour export, migration can contribute to better outcomes for the poor and to social stability in the Pacific region.