Back at work

A-G CHAIRS SMALL STATES FORUM WHILE IN QUARANTINE

ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is officially back at work.

After undergoing medical treatment in Singapore, he looked healthy and was all smiles as he virtually chaired the Small States Forum while in quarantine yesterday.

“This is actually my first day working again and I’m feeling quite well, so here’s to hoping my own recovery bodes well for our economies,” he said in a summary of his exchange posted on the Fijian Government’s official Facebook page.

During his opening remarks, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said he did not want to miss the opportunity to highlight how tough this year had been for the country and the challenges ahead in the post COVID-19 pandemic future.

“THE key short-term priority for small states now, beyond critical question of appropriate access to concessional finance, is to ensure that our economies are wellprepared to return to normal and that we can adequately address any scarring that the crisis might leave.”

He said in 2020, small states, as a group, experienced the largest contraction in gross domestic product (GDP), among all other groups of countries.

“Consequently, small states have been compelled to engage in an unprecedented level of borrowing, triggering a leveraged debt position.

“The pandemic underscored once again that concessional financing is especially critical for countries that are uniquely vulnerable to external shock, such as small states, and that international co-operation is the only way to secure that financing.”

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said concessional financing should include greater access to grants because the financial burden on small states would be great, no matter how concessional the terms.

“We simply need access to a lot of finance.”

He said the discussion should help countries to learn from each other on the best available options and strategies that were available for small states.