THE recent Canberra Trade Missions event in Nadi this week saw about a dozen Canberra business firms from Australia share information with the Government on potential business opportunities in Fiji.

ACT Government Commissioner for International Engagement Brendan Smyth said this was the fourth trade mission to be held in the country.

“Fiji is a very important part of our strategy in the Pacific and we believe that relationships work best when it’s a two-way trade,” Mr Smyth said.

“So, what we’re doing is we’re bringing Canberra firms to Fiji to help in a huge gamut of industries.”

Mr Smyth said a government-to-government approach was crucial when discussing lucrative business ventures that would boost the tourism sectors for both parties.

“Some of it will be business to government about the services that we can offer and some of it will be business to business about building great partnerships between Fiji firms, Canberra firms, so that everybody wins.

“We build that two-way trade, we have that relationship, we have each other’s backs.

Whether we can help with putting renewable energy in place in Fiji or whether we can help your tourism industry by bringing food and beverage, by ensuring that we have more Canberrans coming as tourists, or whether we can start a new industry in Fiji by bringing Canberra’s best coffee roasters to work with Fijian locals to develop the coffee industry here.”

Mr Smyth said the direct flight from Fiji Airways to Canberra also provided a direct conduit and allowed those residing in Canberra to transit through Fiji to the US.

NOTE: This article was first published in the print edition of the Fiji Times dated FEBRUARY 15, 2025.