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22. Tonga's growth prospects are subject to considerable uncertainty related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters on economic activity, as well as to developments in remittances inflows and assistance from development partners. (...).

1.2. Tonga is also particularly vulnerable to adverse shocks from natural disasters and climate change. It ranked fourth in the world in terms of the ratio of its climate-related losses to its GDP for the period 1999-2018. Having borne the largest climate-related loss globally in 2018, when Tropical Cyclone (TC) Gita destroyed approximately 38% of its annual GDP, Tonga also suffered extensive damage from TC Tino and TC Harold in January and April 2020, respectively. Besides frequent tropical cyclones, Tonga experiences intermittent droughts, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and is highly exposed to sea-level rise. It is still in the early stages of building resilience so that its infrastructure and public services are better prepared to face these risks.

1.3. (...) Construction's GDP share was on an upward trend, reflecting significant public (including donor-funded) spending on infrastructure and on post-tropical cyclone reconstruction. (...)

1.5. (...) Accordingly, Tonga continues to face significant sustainability risks, given its economy's vulnerability to natural disasters and global shocks and its debt portfolio's exposure to exchange rate movements.

1.9. (...) Tonga's weak competitiveness and large import needs, coupled with the prospects of lower remittances inflows and heavy debt repayments, are likely to widen current account deficits and reduce reserve coverage to between three and four months of imports by 2023, well below the desirable buffer (about seven months of imports) for countries prone to natural disasters. (...)

2.8. (...) The Tonga National Trade Negotiation Committee (TNTNC), is chaired by the Minister of Trade and Economic Development and co-chaired by the Minister of Revenue and Customs; originally its membership also comprises the CEOs of the Ministries of Agriculture, Food, Forests and Fisheries (MAFFF); Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Communication and Climate Change (MEIDECC); Revenue and Customs; Internal Affairs; and Finance and National Planning.

2.12. Tonga is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) that remains dependent on trade to meet its needs for the wide range of modern capital and consumer goods required for building its economy and reaching its sustainable development goals. (...)

2.13. The [Tonga Strategic Development Framework] TSDF 2015-2025 recognizes that progressive, sustainable, and inclusive development and higher quality of life are not possible in isolation from the rest of the Pacific and the world. Access to new knowledge, progressive ideas, trade, and employment opportunities, as well as foreign investment and development assistance, that are accessible to all are essential. (...).

2.22. (...) Tonga fully supports the WTO Work Programme on Small Economies and would like Members to adopt specific measures to facilitate fuller and more meaningful integration of these economies into the multilateral trading system in accordance with their level of development. It also expects the issues of concern with which they are continuously faced, such as vulnerability to climate change (e.g. natural disasters, sea level rise, and floods), to be reflected.

2.34. The integration of trade in services into the [Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement] PICTA was endorsed in principle in 2001. Liberalization is designed to be gradual and flexible, with transitional periods agreed as appropriate. After seven rounds of negotiations, the PICTA Trade in Services (TiS) Protocol was endorsed and opened for signature on 28 August 2012. (...) The Protocol covers 11 services sectors: business, communication, construction, distribution, educational, environmental, financial, health, tourism, recreational, and transport. Tonga signed the Protocol, and since the previous Review its ratification remains a priority as significant benefits from increased intra-regional trade in services are foreseen.(...)