Resilience and innovation are key for Pacific trade and investment in 2050, says Fiji Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for External Trade, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Hon. Manoa Kamikamica. He was the keynote speaker at a Pacific Islands Forum-hosted Blue Pacific Talanoa session that focused on trade and on investment through the Forum’s work on the 2050 Strategy, and particularly through the Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Network.
Delivering the opening keynote, Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica spoke of the centrality of the Blue Pacific identity for the protection and sustenance of future generations. On resources and economic development, a key feature of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent as its fourth thematic area, the Deputy Prime Minister said the strategy “must create an enabling environment for private sector investment and innovation. This means addressing barriers to trade and investment, streamlining regulations, and investing in infrastructure and human capital development.”
Hon. Kamikamica said building resilience into our economies and societies will ensure capacity to adapt to changing circumstances.
Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Mr Henry Puna, noted the vital role of PTI in economic growth and building the global profile for Pacific-made products. He said, “I acknowledge the governments of Australia, the People’s Republic of China and of New Zealand in recognising the benefits and value that their support in taking Pacific-made to the world is reaping for the Pacific.”
The Talanoa session was moderated by Atenasi Ata, the PTI Global Coordinator, and featured interventions from the private sector by Mr Praveen Narayan of Fiji business Greengoldkava Fiji; Ms Debra Sadranu from Essence Group Fiji; and PTI Australia Trade Commissioner, Caleb Jarvis. The Samoan High Commissioner to Fiji, His Excellency Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia, and Ms Vani Nades, a member of the PTI Advisory Board, rounded off the panel, speaking respectively on the Forum’s work on the 2050 Strategy and PTI’s new strategic plan.
