Barbara Riksen is Team Leader for Economic Cooperation, Investment and Agriculture at the European Union Delegation for the Pacific in Suva, Fiji. Barbara believes that addressing climate change and promoting green economic growth will be corner stones of sustainable development in the Pacific region. Working in a team with seven enthusiastic and experienced programme managers and thematic experts, she is in the lead for EU-funded programmes to support diversified, sustainable and resilient economic growth and to strengthen economic governance. Barbara graduated in 2002 from Wageningen University & Research (The Netherlands) with a Master in Crop Science, completed with a Master in European Governance and Administration from the University of Potsdam (Germany) and the University of Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne, France). Since 2005 she works for the European Commission with a focus on rural development and development cooperation. Outside the office, she combines her passion for gardening with the loving care for her three children.