David Adeang
YAREN (Government of Nauru) — President David Adeang has hailed the success of the Nauru Intergenerational Trust Fund, which he chairs, saying that no one should underestimate the country’s economic turnaround or the importance of the fund to the current and future generations.
At a recent quarterly meeting of the fund in Brisbane, Australia, it was presented that the fund was delivering stellar returns, amassing A$420 million (US$273 million) since its establishment in 2015, in a stunning vindication of Nauru’s strategy to future-proof its economy.
President Adeang, who started the sovereign wealth fund as finance minister in 2015 and was appointed its initial chair, said the fund will play a crucial role in securing the nation’s economic future, providing a permanent income stream to fund government services and nation building initiatives.
“The Fund’s value is forecast to hit A$1 billion (US$650 million) by 2034, and even before this if annual returns and contributions increase.
“Our Government will channel the revenue from the Fund into education, health, the environment and infrastructure to enhance the standard of living and quality of life for the people of Nauru,” he said.
The President labelled the fund “an example of good governance, accountability, and prudent investment practices.”
“When I established this in 2015, I recognized that for too long our nation had been looking only at the present and was not learning from our past economic mistakes,” he said.
“But putting ‘God’s Will First’ means looking after our children and our children’s children.”
President Adeang said many Nauruans may be surprised that while other nations that form the trust’s committee had contributed to the fund, over 75% of the contributions had come from the Government of Nauru.
The Fund’s original purpose and goals were to help stabilize the nation’s economy and help replace or supplement Nauru’s current reliance on donor funding and internal sources of revenue.
Since then, the recent U.N.’s Multidimensional Vulnerability Index has ranked Nauru the fifth most vulnerable nation in the world — and the most vulnerable in the Pacific — to external shocks like climate change, economic instability, and natural disaster.
However, President Adeang said he doesn’t accept that Nauru must remain vulnerable.
“Our Government is determined not to see ourselves as victims, which is why we are positioning Nauru as a Pacific leader in financial stability and innovation.
“We’ve only just started and there is a long way to go, so we must stay the course.”