Pacific Cyber Week opens in Fiji as regional leaders chart a secure, inclusive digital future
Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communications, Manoa Kamikamica, opened the Pacific Cyber Week at the Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort, framing cybersecurity as both a technical challenge and a strategic opportunity to empower people, boost economic growth, and safeguard regional security. The week brings together cybersecurity leaders and policymakers from Pacific Islands Forum members and other Blue Pacific representatives to discuss shared challenges and cooperative solutions.
Key aims highlighted by Kamikamica include:
– Aligning cyber capacity-building with the Lagatoi Declaration Action Plan, and mapping the ten recommendations from the last Pacific Cyber Capacity Building Coordination Conference (P4C) against tangible initiatives and deliverables within the Lagatoi framework.
– Investing in the Pacific’s cyber workforce and skills, focusing on cyber education, quality university programs, and creating clear career pathways for cyber professionals.
– Collectively implementing the UN eleven norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace.
– Strengthening public-private partnerships to boost cybersecurity resilience, drawing on the strengths of industry and academia to address threats and drive innovation.
“By deepening collaboration, we can better protect critical sectors, share threat intelligence and knowledge, and build a safer digital environment for the Pacific,” Kamikamica said. He urged growing participation from industry partners and stressed the region’s need to work together to build a secure, inclusive, and resilient digital future. Recalling the ICT Ministerial Dialogue, he reminded attendees of the proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” He encouraged stakeholders to use Pacific Cyber Week to reflect on progress toward a cyber-secure and resilient region and to advance confidence-building measures that align with regional norms.
Context and broader outlook
The event comes amid Fiji’s broader push into digital transformation and cybersecurity. Fiji has been advancing its National Digital Strategy (NDS), which outlines ambitious targets to grow the ICT sector, create jobs, and attract investment. The strategy also signals ongoing improvements in connectivity—such as new satellite links and subsea cables—that position Fiji as a regional digital hub while underscoring the need for robust cyber defenses. Fiji’s broader cybersecurity drive includes the development of a national cybersecurity strategy, the establishment of a national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), and alignment with international frameworks such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.
These regional efforts align with ongoing and related initiatives across the Blue Pacific, including partnerships with Australia to strengthen cyber resilience and capacity-building, engagement at APT ministerial meetings on secure digital environments, and momentum toward a National Cybersecurity Strategy for 2025–2030.
What to watch next
– Progress in implementing the Lagatoi Action Plan, including concrete projects and deliverables tied to cyber capacity-building.
– Movement on Fiji’s National Cybersecurity Strategy and the operationalisation of CERT, including funding and governance arrangements.
– How subsea infrastructure expansion and satellite connectivity translate into practical benefits for citizens and businesses, supported by strong cyber-risk management.
– Regional cooperation milestones, particularly in public-private collaboration, incident response, and shared threat intelligence.
Summary and outlook
Pacific Cyber Week in Fiji signals a forward-looking push to harmonize policy, education, and partnerships to secure a rapidly digital region. With Fiji’s emphasis on capacity-building, international norms, and regional collaboration, the Blue Pacific could emerge as a regional model for secure digital growth—balancing access and innovation with robust safeguards in an increasingly connected world.
Leave a comment