A 50-member delegation consisting of New Zealand business leaders and representatives are in Fiji on a business mission this week, highlighting the strong bilateral ties and vast investment opportunities within Fiji.

Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister for Trade, Co-Operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications, Honorable Biman Prasad said the significant increase in delegation size from previous years reflected New Zealand’s growing confidence in doing business in Fiji and the close relationship between the two countries.

“Our geographic proximity and close people-to-people ties makes it easier for us to do business with one another and is the foundation on which greater levels of trade & investment can be realized,” he said.

“Fiji is the only Pacific Island country to rank in New Zealand’s top 20trading partners with two-way bilateral trade reaching an unprecedented F$1.36blast year.”

“New Zealand also remains a key economic partner - a key source of foreign direct investment, second largest source of international visitors and is Fiji’s third largest export destination” added the Minister.

Investment Fiji’s Head of Regional Trade and Development Lisala Dyer, also echoed the sentiment, highlighting the diverse investment opportunities Fiji offers.

“As the hub of the Pacific, Fiji presents unmatched investment potential for New Zealand businesses across established and emerging sectors,” he said.

“We are actively seeking investment in a number of key sectors including Tourism, Health, Agriculture, Fisheries, Manufacturing as well as Outsourcing, ”he added.

Dyer also added that Fiji has a number of investment leads from New Zealand based companies in sectors such as Services, BPO/ICT, Tourism, Manufacturing as well as Real Estate. In terms of trade Fiji’s major export commodities include Taro, Medicaments, Kava as well as Fresh/Chilled Vegetables. 

The Fiji Business Mission is a collaborative effort of the New Zealand-Fiji and Fiji-New Zealand Business Councils, the New Zealand High Commission and NZTE, Ministry for Trade, Co-Operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications, Investment Fiji, and the Fiji Trade Commission to New Zealand.

Investment Fiji has facilitated B2B meetings for these New Zealand businesses to meet with their Fijian counterparts as well as organizing networking events for the delegation to connect with key private and public stakeholders in Fiji.

The week-long event signifies the positive outlook on the Fiji-New Zealand business relationship, emphasizing strong ties, promising investment opportunities, and a focus on fostering deeper economic ties.

‍