The Government held a two-day national economic forum last week with the aim to create a collective national vision by charting a path towards economic recovery. The summit included around 500 perspicacious business and public sector attendees to consider options of a way forward for Fiji.

At the summit some positives were highlighted; According to the Asian Development Bank Fiji's economic growth is projected to increase by 6.3% in 2023 before levelling out to around 3% in 2024.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance told the summit that the economy is currently experiencing a projected rebound of 15 percent over the pandemic recession.

Tourism industry has done very well with recent arrivals in January to March for this year already ahead of the pre-pandemic equivalent period. It is hoped that, if this trend continues, tourism will return to 2019 levels and could well make a full recovery by the end of this year.

At the end of the 2 day summit a communique was issued with the following key resolutions:

• Trustworthy leadership
• Good governance practices
• Maintaining fiscal discipline
• Prioritising human development
• Supporting rural and outer island communities
• Boosting agriculture and fisheries
• Advancing technology-based education
• Empowering Fiji's indigenous population in commerce
• Improving water supply and waste management
• Upgrading land, marine, and transportation systems
• Enhancing electricity supply
• Emphasising evidence-based policymaking
• Promoting continuous collaboration among all stakeholders.

Its business as usual until the government announce their first budget which is expected in July 2023.

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