LABOUR mobility has been one of the most tangible sources of income, skills, and opportunity for Pacific households, yet the system that support movement are still fragmented and externally shaped across the region.
These were the comments of Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa at the 2025 Pacific Update held at the University of the South Pacific early this week, challenging leaders to do better.
“That is why I have consistently advocated for a future where Pacific peoples can move more freely – for work, for study, and for opportunity. This must be a deliberate regional priority,” Mr Waqa said.
To enable mobility, he said Pacific island countries must invest in physical, digital and financial connectivity.
He said that included tackling the high cost and complexity of inter-island transport.
“It means removing the regulatory and procedural barriers that prevent our farmers and producers from accessing regional and global markets.
“Trade is a powerful enabler of economic diversification, and we must continue working to strengthen intra-regional trade routes and harmonise trade-related frameworks and standards.
“It also means restoring correspondent banking relationships (CBR) so remittances flow securely and affordably.”
Mr Waqa reiterated his message at last year’s Pacific Banking Forum that banking was not just about regulation but about livelihoods.
He said it was about whether a student could be supported by their family, whether a business could pay its suppliers, and also whether a community could send and receive money without penalty.
Mr Waqa noted the provocative Pacific Update theme ‘Measuring the economic performance of the Pacific Islands’ saying for Pacific island countries, economic performance must reflect more than numbers.
He said it must reflect how well island nations responded to challenges, how connected they are across the region, and how prepared they are to shape their own futures.
He added for a long time, indicators of countries’ economic performance had been handed with little consideration of their Pacific context.
“Our capacity to be able to gather, manage and analyse data has been an ongoing challenge for us.
“I know there has been ongoing efforts by institutions such as USP and agencies such as the Pacific Community and UN agencies to build our capacities to do this.
“However, I believe this is an opportunity for us to rethink and revisit the indicators we are chasing whether they are the ones that truly reflect our progress.”
Note: This article was first published on the print version of the Fiji Times dated June 7, 2025
