Fijian delegates atthe Investment and Trade Mission in Australia had an eventful first two days of engaging and networking with their Australian counterparts.

For Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Plus (PHAMA Plus) Program Country Manager (Fiji) Navitalai Tuivuniwai, the ongoing business forum event presented them with a platform to explore into the Australian market.

"PHAMA Plus, funded by Australia and New Zealand, works across the kava and fresh produce sectors in Fiji, primarily with private sector partners such as exporters. Our main goal is a return of investment for our Fijian export partners to establish sustainable business relationships in Australia and create further onshore value creation which will generate employment opportunities and income for farmers and producers," mentioned Tuivuniwai.

PHAMA Plus is supporting a delegation of export partners; namely Donny Yee (Lami Kava Managing Director), Praveen Narayan (Green Gold Kava Founder) and Naheeda Maqbool (Zonah United Managing Director) at the Australia mission, to explore trade and market opportunities in the kava, fresh produce, and plant extract sectors.

"The mission also provides an opportunity to share lessons learned from other Australian and Pacific export businesses operating in the new normal and what it means in terms of harnessing trade and investment opportunities to strengthen economic recovery efforts," he added.

Raghu Chowdhary, Director of Paradise Technologies, stated that he is honored to be a part of the high-level business meeting that promotes business opportunities in Fiji for Australian entrepreneurs.

"I am optimistic that the event will create opportunities for all of us.  I am a distributor for energy-saving efficiency projects and products in Oceania, andI am here to explore areas of trade and networking with potential buyers, eventually to tap into the Australian market, "said Chowdhary.

Led by the Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, Honorable Faiyaz Koya, the Fijian delegation is participating in various business-to-business meetings and networking events.

The team will travel to Brisbane today to convene for the second phase of the forum.

The week-long Australia mission comes to an end on Friday, July 22nd, 2022.