FINANCE Minister Esrom Immanuel said the Government is trying to rejuvenate cooperatives.
He told this newspaper in Nadi yesterday during a Pacific regional dialogue on cooperatives that when the Coalition Government came into power, the cooperative sector was in dire need of assistance.
“So, now we are trying to rebuild the cooperative movement and to try and be like the MSMEs,” Mr Immanuel said.
“MSMEs are well advanced compared to the cooperatives.”
Mr Immanuel said the contribution of cooperatives in the local economy is about 10 per cent.
“But it can be more than that and that is what the purpose of this conference is to try and see where we can copy those countries that have well developed cooperatives like India, Indonesia.”
He said he would ensure the outcomes of the Pacific Regional Dialogue on Cooperatives as Drivers of the Blue-Green Economy in the Pacific, the workshop underway in Nadi, would be taken into account.
“For me personally because I just came into this position in November (2025), so I’ll see whatever dialogue or action plan came from the dialogue is put into place,” Mr Immanuel said.
“And some of those issues raised this morning, and such as the institutionalisation of cooperatives, the revision of the act which is something that needs to be done very quickly and modernising the cooperative, apart from strengthening the governance, looking into technology.
“I’ll ensure that whatever is decided or agreed to here is the way forward that is put into place.”
The three-day regional dialogue is jointly organised by the International Cooperative Alliance Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP) and the Department of Cooperative Business (DCB), Fiji, with support from the ICA–EU Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA2).
The forum aims to strengthen regional cooperation and advance practical solutions for economic empowerment, food security and sustainable development in Pacific Island countries.
Senior government officials, cooperative leaders, development partners and practitioners from across the Pacific are part of the dialogue held at the Tokatoka Resort in Nadi.
Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel, right.
Picture: REINAL CHAND
