Photo: AFP
As the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) kicked off in Suva today, Tonga's Finance Minister, who is also the chair, says it is important to seize opportunities for growth.
PACNEWS reported over the next two days, the ministers will focus on key economic priorities, including technology, connectivity, and the digital economy.
Tiofilusi Tiueti pointed to the ongoing impact of the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and climate change.
"The global economic outlook remains uncertain, with lingering pandemic effects, geopolitical tensions disrupting supply chains, and rising inflation. Climate change continues to pose an existential threat to our Blue Pacific Continent," he said.
He also reflected on the devastating eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai more than two years saying it had caused loss and damage equivalent to 36 percent of Tonga's GDP.
The minister used this as an example of the harsh realities Pacific nations face, and why building transformative resilience is not a choice, but a necessity.
Tiueti praised the Pacific community's support for Tonga in the aftermath of the eruption but acknowledged areas for improvement in collective response.
He also pointed out the potential of technological advancements and ocean resources for driving economic prosperity.
"Technological advancements offer innovative solutions for climate adaptation, financial inclusion, and sustainable development. The vast ocean resources of the Pacific offer significant opportunities for unlocking economic prosperity," Tiueti said.
He spoke about the labour mobility schemes, saying over 50,000 Pacific Islanders are now working on these schemes, and while the remittances are important, domestic economies are languishing.
Fiji's Finance Minister, Biman Prasad, a former professor of economics, cautioned that international economic headwinds remain a concern.
He pointed to the COP29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, later this year as a key event for the region.
"Pacific Economic Ministers are hoping to work towards a foundational framework that will allow Pacific countries to access critical climate finance for our development and to address the fundamental challenges posed by climate change," he said.
Population decline
A Pacific researcher and economist, Steve Pollard, said economic ministers needs to consider the impact of dramatically falling populations in parts of the region.
While much of the Pacific has seen little or no population growth for many years, over the past ten years in the Federated States of Micronesia, Steve Pollard, said the population has dropped 30 percent, and in the Marshall Islands it's 20 percent.
Both countries have open access to the United States.
While Pollard said the issue is not new the ministers should be considering the impact this loss has on the countries' ability to achieve development goals.
"It's not something new, it's been underway for some time. I just fear that I'm looking into the future," he said.
"What is there developing within the country to hold these people in the country, and as an economist I see the economics of it, and I the lack of growth and therefore the affordability for self-financing social development."
-RNZ/PACNEWS