Ministry anticipates full trade agenda ahead
FIJI’S trade agenda for 2024 is “quite full” with bilateral trade agreement discussions with New Caledonia and Indonesia already underway, and possible trade talks with Asian countries to be made, says permanent secretary for Trade Shaheen Ali.
Speaking to the media on Friday, he said talks on the review of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus), and a new Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Trade Agreement were ongoing.
“There’s always trade agreements on the horizon. Countries do express interest. There is Indonesia that has expressed interest in bilateral trade agreement. We have ongoing talks with New Caledonia and of course, there’s constantly talks and reviews of PACER Plus,” Mr Ali said.
“These are the agreements we are looking at. We have the MSG trade agreement that we need to sort of put more momentum on the new MSG trade agreement. So, (the) trade agenda is quite full if we focus on these key agreements,
“The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which includes the big Asian giants, that we feel that will open a lot of doors for us, particularly into Asia.”
Mr Shaheen said any trade talks with Asian countries need not be formal trade agreements.
“To look at some of the countries in Asia where we can have close trade ties with, and they don’t need to be formal trade agreements. We could start off with things like instruments of cooperation and understanding and ensure that our agencies like biosecurity, etc, have close cooperation with their counterparts in those countries.
“That in itself, will assist market access and trade between Fiji and those countries.”