The three-day 2024 Fiji-Australia and Australia-Fiji Business Councils Joint Forum, described as “the most significant event for the year in bilateral trade between Australia and Fiji” by Australia-Fiji Business Council president Allison Haworth West, successfully wrapped up yesterday.
In her closing remarks, Ms. West highlighted the day’s presentations and expressed gratitude to organizers and attendees for their participation, encouraging non-members to join and reminding current members of the next year’s forum, which will take place in Australia.
She emphasized the importance of personal connections in business, noting, “We all know that people connections are fundamental to business and have been discussed and evidenced by behavior in the room over the last couple of days.” She congratulated the attendees on their networking efforts and remarked on the exceptional communication and dialog that had taken place, mentioning recurring themes such as migration, infrastructure, and education.
Fiji-Australia Business Council president Vera Chute also provided a summary of the event, which began with a dinner on Thursday night. She expressed hope that attendees had gained valuable insights over the three days.
During the forum, the deputy Australian High Commissioner, Ms. Clair McNamara, announced that over the last ten months, Australia had signed new grant agreements totaling $F157.3 million for Fiji, supporting priorities within the Vuvale partnership. Additionally, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific confirmed over $F232 million in loans and grants aimed at addressing Fiji’s needs in aviation, transport, maritime, energy, and climate change.
Ms. Chute noted that an investment of approximately $500 million is necessary to increase Fiji’s growth to five percent, while Australian Trade Commissioner for the Pacific, Tim Houghton, shared that infrastructure opportunities in Fiji are valued at $US750 million (approximately $F1.65 billion).
She reminded delegates of the importance of investing in people, a sentiment echoed by Westpac Pacific’s managing director Emma Low, as well as by Kelera Cavuilati of MDF, who presented local case studies, and Marc McElrath from McDonald’s Fiji, who spoke about good governance.
More than 200 delegates participated in the three-day forum.