Tonga's King says while the state of democracy appears to be advancing in the country, the state of the economy seems to suffer from a lack of vision.
Matangi Tonga reports King Tupou VI made the comments while opening the 2019-20 Parliamentary Session on Thursday.
The King said that democracy involves consulting all sectors of society and making the choice of the people important.
"This is an important aspect of democracy because if not, the decision making by one continues benefitting only a select few."
King Tupou VI then said what was lacking at the moment was a vision to improve the state of the economy.
The monarch said an important aspect to assist the economy and the workplace would be to have a technical school that could provide qualifications that are recognised internationally.
He cited a course run by the Friendly Island Shipping Agency (FISA) as a positive example.