The key short-term priority for small states amid the Covid-19 pandemic is to ensure they are well financed to return to normal, the Fiji government said.
Addressing the Pacific Small States Forum on Monday, Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the island nations must address any scarring that the global health crisis might leave.
.. Photo: Facebook/Fiji govt
Sayed-Khaiyum said it was also critical for the region to gain appropriate access to concessional finance beyond the pandemic.
He said in 2020, the Pacific's small states experienced the largest contraction in gross domestic product (GDP), among other groups of countries.
"Consequently, small states have been compelled to engage in an unprecedented level of borrowing, triggering a leveraged debt position," he said.
"The pandemic underscored once again that concessional financing is especially critical for countries that are uniquely vulnerable to external shock, such as small states, and that international co-operation is the only way to secure that financing."
Sayed-Khaiyum said concessional financing should include greater access to grants because the financial burden on small states would be great, no matter how concessional the terms.
Small states simply need access to a lot of finance, he said.
The minister said the discussion should help countries to learn from each other on the best available options and strategies that were available for small states.
Sayed-Khaiyum said the small states need development loans that will sustain them until 2050.
By then, they would need to reach their net-zero goal for carbon emissions and well beyond, he added.
He said the pandemic had revealed that concessional financing was critical for countries that were uniquely vulnerable to external shocks.