A1. Hon Minister,
the world was surprised to see the fragility
of the Fijian political system with the internal
tensions between native and non-native Fijians
back in year 2000. What is your assessment
of the current situation and how would you
reassure possible investors that Fiji's political
problems are over?
Q1. We went through rough times after
the coup of 2000 and it was very costly for
the country, for the people and for our internal
ethnic relationships but we believe that that
state is history. We have put that behind
us and we are moving forward to a new era
for the country. Looking back at what we have
achieved, we can be proud of our recovery
in terms of the political situation. We have
come through the general elections under the
current constitution. The elections went very
well indeed. We had international observers
here and they gave us a clean bill of health
after the elections. The current government
has been in place for over 12 months and has
been able to recover and grow the economy.
The economy is almost 100% recovered. Almost
100% because we are still not fully satisfied
with what we have. We have maintained financial
stability and the figures for economic growth
are looking very promising. We are looking
at a 4.4% growth this year, 5% or 6% next
year and another positive growth in the year
2004. The tourists are arriving in large numbers
and we might achieve the pre-coup figure of
over 400,000 visitors by the end of this year.
That is quite possible and talking about tourism,
they say, "Someone's tragedy is someone
else's fortune". That has been the result
of our tourism industry after the September
11th terrorist attacks in New York. We could
see people coming into Fiji, to the region
as whole, and Fiji has benefited from that.
A2. Avoiding international sanctions
was a key aspect to overcome the crisis.
How would you describe the current level
of international integration that Fiji has
accomplished in these last two years?
Q2. All the sanctions that were applied
to Fiji have gone. Australia, New Zealand
and the UK government did apply sanctions
and under the Commonwealth, we were suspended
from the council meetings. Later on, because
of the normalization of our politics, the
recovery took place and all the sanctions
were lifted. Now we have normal relations
with all our neighbors and all our overseas
partners. There is only one remaining concern
and that is our relations with the European
Union. This relates to the EDF, the European
Development Fund 9, which is yet to be signed
because we still have this political question
that will be heard in the Supreme Court early
next year. Once the Supreme Court makes the
decision and the decision is implemented,
as we propose to do, the signing of the EDF9
plan will take place and that will clear all
the obstacles relating to our relations with
the European Union. Then we will have normal
international relations with all our neighbors
and countries with which we had diplomatic
relations. All the bilateral packages and
programs have been resumed and in the case
of Australia, the bilateral package has been
increased and that indicates a new level of
cooperation between our two nations. We have
returned to the commonwealth as well and the
suspension of benefits from that quarter have
been lifted.
Q3. During the next Commonwealth Business
Council that will take place next March
in New Delhi, What is the message you would
like to communicate and what can the Fiji
islands offer to Commonwealth countries?
A3. All the Commonwealth Members are aware
of the normalization of our membership and
Fiji is open for business. We see it as a
vote of confidence in the increased number
of willing investors looking into Fiji and
we have just completed an investment mission
to the US. I led that mission to Los Angeles
and another mission has just returned from
Australia. Some months ago, late last year,
I led a mission to New Zealand and we could
see the increased interest in coming into
Fiji to invest. That is obviously a vote of
confidence on what is happening here. They
could see normalizations of our relations,
they could see that the economy has recovered
and we offer a lot of opportunities. We offer
a lot of attractive concessions to respective
investors and they are obviously interested
in that. I think that what Fiji offers is
considerable. We have a well educated labor
force and a central position in the Pacific,
Geography favors us. We offer a good lifestyle,
our good climate is very attractive, we have
good scenery here, good hotels, good tourism
resorts, etc. But what of added interest to
investors also are our linkages with other
markets, our trade agreements through SPARTECA
with Australia and New Zealand and through
the GSP with the US. Fiji is not only a local
market but instead it is also the heart of
the all the Pacific markets. From Fiji you
have access to all the Pacific Island countries.
For instance, the PICTA (Pacific Island Countries
Trade Agreement) is a new trade agreement
with the 14 Pacific island countries. We also
have the PACER (Pacific Economic Cooperation)
that includes Australia and New Zealand. With
all these trade agreements we are going to
give a new dimension to trade, we will expand
trade as we are the hub of the Pacific.
Q4. The government has a clear intention
of opening up the economy to more sectors
than tourism. What sectors are benefiting
from this diversification in terms of international
trade?
A4. We have attracted companies into Fiji
since the 70's and the 80's. At that time
it was a Tax Free Zone and we also had the
Tax Free Factories policy. They could come
and operate here under tax-holidays and than
use these trade arrangements we have to market
out. We have Australian companies or Asian
companies who are exporting garments to Australia
and New Zealand under the SPARTECA agreement
or the US under the GSP arrangement. We have
also garment industries that export to the
European Union under the Cotonou Agreement.
There are companies that are taking advantage
of these linkages.
Q5. Fiji is currently undergoing a domestic
economic diversification process. According
to you, in what sectors can foreign investors
find more benefits?
A5. In terms of incentives it is quite
attractive. There is a broad range of concessions.
At this stage Fiji is still an agricultural
country. Our natural resources will be utilized
for some time for our economic growth. Talking
about agriculture, there are a lot of prospects
in terms of tropical fruits, pineapples, ginger
and things like that. The utilization of our
land resources would still be a major focus
for us: We have our marine resources that
offer great prospects for development and
economic growth and we are just touching the
tip of the ice-berg; We have forestry resources.
We have the largest mahogany plantation stand
in the world, a billion dollar industry which
is coming on stream now. A trial period to
start logging the timber has just begun to
gain some experience and to start looking
for value adding. We have been trying to diversify
into the manufacturing light-industry for
some time. We could see manufacturing growing
and that is important for our regional perspective.
In terms of regionalism we see Fiji taking
a major role here. Because of our geography
and our relative development status, compared
to other small island states, Fiji offers
a lot more in the South Pacific than any other.
If you go to Tuvalu, or Kiribati you will
see a range of Fijian manufactured products.
We have a critical role concerning regional
integration. We can develop to be the manufacturing
center for all these island states. But we
obviously need a good shipping arrangement,
which is provided by the Pacific Forum. We
still need more development but this is the
picture we see in the future, a greater regional
development with Fiji being the heart of the
Pacific. Another exciting sector for Fiji
is the IT based industry now that we are linked
to the US, to Australia and to New Zealand
through the Southern Cross Network. This is
going to open up new areas for growth and
development in Fiji and we are attracting
companies to set up their Call Centers here.
The ANZ bank has theirs here; the Westpac
Corporation is starting soon. All the necessary
infrastructures are already in place to establish
a Call Center. There is also the Audio-Visual
industry, where we see a lot of growth potential
in Fiji. We have established the Fiji Audio-Visual
Commission to manage all this potential. |
Q6. Are they
in charge of the Studio City Project?
A6. They are not in charge directly but
they are working in close consultation with
the people developing the studio city. The
Commission itself is a governmental body and
its task is to establish the necessary framework
and policies, the legislation and concessions
that would attract the Audio-Visual industry
into Fiji. They have been doing a lot of promotion.
Their representatives were with us in the
United States recently. They have been going
to the Cannes Film Festival a couple of times
and they have been talking to a number of
studios in Hollywood. When we were in LA,
we went to Fox Studios and Sony Studios and
spoke to film producers and directors to come
to Fiji and film here. We have had some filming
done already in Fiji and the people were impressed.
The Studio city will start soon. It will be
a city of about 30,000 people with all the
expertise and skills required for Audio-Visual
projects and all the necessary services needed
for the Industry. This project is going to
create a lot of employment.
Q7. One of the interesting facts about Fiji's
foreign relations is its contribution to peace
through UN peacekeeping forces. For a nation
for its size, this is remarkable. Could you
tell us more about this?
A7. We pride ourselves in doing that,
contributing to peace around the world. We
have participated in many countries, many
regions around the world and we are known
to produce good soldiers, good peacekeepers.
We get along with people very well and our
soldiers are very professional. That is why
there is a huge demand in our participation
in war zones and conflict areas. We have good
soldiers because of the active life style
we enjoy we like action, we play rugby, football,
etc.
Q8. Is Fiji working with other countries to
fight terrorism?
A8. We have to go back to September 11th,
when there was a need to step up security,
to fight terrorism. We are very supportive
of the Security Council Resolution and we
are participating in providing information
to the Counter Terrorism Committee of the
UN. We are quite active in the region by cooperating
with the other security forces. We are aware
of the threats of terrorism and we are very
much aware of the vulnerability of being a
small and exposed country. We have been attending
regional and international meetings. There
was one in Bali last year where we participated
and two working committees were established
and we are currently working with them. We
also work with our counterparts in Australia
and New Zealand because we are all vulnerable
and the only way to counter terrorism is to
work together in a global effort. What happened
in Bali a few weeks ago tells us that it is
getting closer so we are tightening up security.
I know that in the past, some people have
been coming through Fiji as a staging post
to go to other countries so we have alerted
all our security forces, all the broader organizations
like immigrations, customs and so on to be
on alert for possible terrorist intervention.
Q9. How have the recent sad events in Bali
and the Philippines affected the tourism sector
in Fiji and the investment climate in general?
A9. Someone's misery is someone else's
fortune. In one way or another, that is what
is happening in Fiji since September 11th.
We have seen an increasing number of Americans
coming down here. I met a few of them myself
and they told me that Fiji is like a place
of refuge. Then Bali suffered those terrible
events and a few hours after the incident
I spoke to an hotelier who told me that there
was an increase in the number of enquiries
coming through straight after that. All the
planes are full now and the hotels have reached
top occupancy rates. It is sad what has happened
but there are people looking for safer destinations
and our remoteness is a major factor. Being
in the middle of the ocean from big landmasses,
away from big concentrations of population,
is providing a buffer zone to us. People see
us as a safe haven. Now that the economy has
recovered as well as our politics, Fiji is
a lot more attractive in terms of tourism.
Q10. The South Pacific Games are going to
be an opportunity to confirm Fiji capacity
to organize high-level international events.
What would be the message that the Fiji islands
want to communicate during the games to the
international community and what other international
events will be held in Fiji soon?
A10. It is going to be the biggest South
Pacific Games ever. Because of the recovery
that has taken place, the normalization of
relations and the improvements in the political
situation, Fiji is ready to accommodate the
games and the participants themselves and
we are all looking forward to the games starting
in late June next year. It is going to be
a serene and peaceful event. We are trying
to provide an environment in which everybody
who comes to the games has good times. I suppose
our friends overseas are looking at whether
we will be able to do this or not, to accommodate
everyone. I can say that certainly we can
do it, we are capable as well as we showed
when we hosted the ACP Summit last July. It
was the biggest meeting we ever hosted. It
went very well indeed and people have indicated
positive feedback. We also provided the necessary
security for all other state government representatives.
We believe that we have the resources to host
the Games. It will again enhance the recovery
that has taken place in Fiji and our capabilities
as a small group of islands to host large
meetings whether they are regional or international.
Q11. Fiji needs more investments to reach
its growth objectives. How would you qualify
the current investment climate in the Fiji
Islands?
A11. We have recovery in terms of trade
and investment. The latter has been an area
of concern to us because when we look at the
investment trend over the years we can see
that it has declined for some time and at
the moment it is low, only 10-12% of GDP.
That is a very low figure and we would like
investment to be around 25-30% of GDP. We
believe that the investors confidence is back
when we see the interests from investors and
perhaps the trend is going to change. We are
fully aware of the need for FDI in developing
countries. Globally, the FDI has been declining
and Fiji has been reflecting the downward
trend. Now there is an increased interest
in Fiji as an investment destination. We need
that 25-30% of GDP in order to generate the
5-6% annual economic growth we want to absorb
all the school leavers that come out seeking
employment, and to generate the prosperity
that this country needs. That is the scenario
that we are working towards and with all the
positive and favorable signals coming through
we can reach this target.
Q12. Could you tell our readers a little
bit about your professional background?
A12. I worked for 14 years as a diplomat.
I worked four years in London as the Counsellor
there but at the same time representing a
company, the Fiji Sugar Marketing, the marketing
arm of the sugar industry. Then in 1988 I
got transferred to Brussels and became the
Ambassador. I was accredited to other EU countries:
France, Portuguese, Spain, Luxemburg, the
Netherlands and Greece. I was also accredited
to international organisations like UNESCO
and the WTO in Geneva. It was an interesting
time, whilst there I saw the evolution of
the European Union. That was exciting for
me from a working perspective. It was not
just a representational post. The varied work
kept me there for ten years. Before that I
worked in the government for eleven years
in the Ministry of Agriculture, as an Agricultural
Economist.
Winne cannot be held responsible for
unedited transcription.
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V.I.P. INTERVIEWS
