Fiji-Australia Business Conference
G'day from Australia. It is a real opportunity to speak at this event. A real honor to be with you this evening. I am also very sorry that I can't be there in person.
Deputy Prime Minister, it would have been a fantastic opportunity to share that cup of kava that we have been promising each other for many, many months.
Now, I want to acknowledge you, my friend, the Deputy Prime Minister. I understand acting Prime Minister this week, Manoa Kamikamica, a good friend of mine and a good friend of Australia. It is very good to hear that you are there as acting Prime Minister.
It was an excellent speech, a terrific speech, really, that outlines this government's determination to put Fiji on a pathway to economic prosperity and to economic development and opportunity. It was an outstanding speech, and I was encouraged by your comments on the strength of the trade and investment ties between Australia and Fiji.
I wanted, at the outset, to thank you for your leadership for Fiji and the broader Pacific, particularly my experience working side by side with you at the World Trade Organization as Australia and Fiji, in lockstep with the rest of the Pacific and our friends in New Zealand, work hard to combat illegal and unsustainable fishery subsidies and to protect the Blue Pacific's fishing reserves.
Our economic relationship strengthened under our renewed Vuvale Partnership is one of quality. It's built on trust and mutual respect, yes, on the economic and commercial relationship, but it's much deeper, much deeper indeed than that. The story of Fiji's economic success is remarkable, and I am proud to say that Australia is one of Fiji's largest trade and investment partners. In 2021 our two-way trade in goods and services stood at $812 million but by 2023 this figure had grown to $3.2 billion - an incredible increase of 294%. This, of course, has been underpinned by Australian’s appetite for travel to Fiji, due not just to Fiji's proximity to Australia, competitive pricing, and greater flight connectivity, but the truth is, because Australian families love Fiji.
In 2023 Fiji welcomed nearly 930,000 visitors, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and even exceeding 2019 figures by 4%. Nearly half of those visitors were from Australia, and our economic collaboration extends across a wide array of sectors in Fiji, agriculture, fisheries, business process outsourcing, and, of course, tourism.
In 2023 nearly 3000 Australian businesses exported a total of $562 million worth of goods to Fiji. We are proud to support Pacific Trade Invest to increase Fijian exports back here to Australia. In 2023, Pacific Trade Invest facilitated $49 million worth of exports, an increase of $12 million on the previous year.
And Deputy Prime Minister, as you referred to, one of those success stories, is, of course, in kava. And I look forward to, as I said, whether it is in Fiji with you, or here in Australia sharing a cup of kava with you as soon as we can.
Pacific Trade Invest supports a broad spectrum of enterprises, including root crops, exporters like Ben's Trading with over 200 staff, Ben's Trading sources root crops from across Fiji, positively impacting up to 100,000 Fijians and growing Fiji's export agriculture sector.
We, in Australia and in the Australian Government, want to continue to deepen those two-way trade and investment ties. That includes partnering with the market development facility and the International Finance Corporation collaborating to drive private sector investment in Fijian economic diversification, particularly tourism, high value agriculture and business process outsourcing.
All of this work under our Vuvale Partnership, supporting Fiji's economic reforms through budget support and technical assistance, in partnership with the ASEAN Development Bank, we're working to maximize trade access and market access for Fiji and products. I'm very pleased to see Fiji's strong kava industry making the most of the current commercial importation arrangements that's seen 123 tonnes of Fijian kava in Australia, making Fiji the second largest kava exporter.
While we celebrate this growth, of course, we must also acknowledge that the global environment is getting tougher. The world is grappling with rising geopolitical tensions, conflict, and the looming possibility of a global recession. It's crucial that we continue to work together to build a shared economic future for this beautiful region that we share.
Our strong ministerial engagement underscores our commitment to these goals. Earlier this month, our Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Foreign Minister Penny Wong attended the Pacific Islands Foreign Economic and Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue. Economic resilience, climate change and sustainable finance were just some of the issues that were discussed, and how Pacific partners will address challenges and harness new opportunities. As Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, the principle of the Vuvale Partnership and our work with you is that we seek to be responsive as we speak.
The Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting is underway in Tonga where regional leaders are discussing and deepening our approach to our shared priorities. Trade ministers will also participate in the upcoming closer economic relations trade ministers meeting in Rotorua this September to further strengthen our trade ties.
All of this is about deepening our two-way trade relationship and the web of economic and investment relationships across the region. Our ongoing engagement through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Deputy Prime Minister, that you referred to in your contributions, heralds a new path forward to address these challenges. Through IPEF we can develop smart solutions on supply chain, resilience, the clean energy transition, digital trade, and anti-corruption. I really welcome Fiji's participation and leadership in IPEF, and it shows the growth in Fiji's standing as an important player in the Indo Pacific region.
Australia's $25 million IPEF fund for technical assistance and economic cooperation will support Fiji to implement IPEF’s ambitious standards, including on supply chain resilience, the transition to net zero and combating corruption to boost foreign investment.
I'm also delighted to hear about Fiji's renewed interest in PACER Plus. Engaging with PACER Plus will allow Fiji to play a greater leadership role in regional trade and economic integration.
We stand ready to support Fiji's decision making and evaluation process and the consultation process that you outlined, we're here to support Fiji's nation building priorities through quality, sustainable and transformative infrastructure development as well.
The Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific is a prime example of our investment in the region's future. The initiative is already making significant progress, particularly in transformative infrastructure development, which is crucial.
As I said at the outset of my contribution, working shoulder to shoulder with Fiji in the World Trade Organization has been one of the contributions that Australia is most proud of in our work at the World Trade Organization. In recent years, our work together, and including all of our friends across the Pacific and New Zealand as well, has been making significant progress, and it's the steadfast leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica, that has galvanized members of the World Trade Organization to push hard for better reform on fisheries subsidies and agriculture reform more broadly.
These are just some of the areas of economic cooperation that characterize our deep and abiding relationship. I am, of course, deeply conscious that I'm giving you a long list of these achievements and this hard work while you are there in Suva waiting for your dinner.
I really want to say that this relationship is so important, government to government, business to business, and people to people. This is a deep and abiding relationship that will go from strength to strength.
I wish you the very best for this evening's dinner and for the dialogue and engagement that you will no doubt have over the coming days and just repeat again. I'm very sorry I'm not there, but I'm sure I will be there soon. Thank you very much.
ENDS
