The Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) will be hosting its final business forum of the year on Friday, October 25 at the Tanoa International Hotel in Votualevu, Nadi.
One of the key objectives of the final forum will be to bridge the gap between the government and other sectors with its members in order to understand the progress being made towards the economy and infrastructure and other areas of interest so far.
Minister of Lands and Mineral Resources, Filimoni Vosarogo will be the chief guest at the business forum that is scheduled to start at 2pm and carry on until the evening.
NCCI president Dr Ram Raju said the chamber is fortunate to host the minister as chief guest as members and other stakeholders are looking forward to meeting the honorable minister and get an update on his ministry.
“First and foremost I wish to thank the honorable minister for accepting our invitation to be chief guest in our final business forum of the year,” Dr Raju said.
Dr Raju confirmed that the Minister of Agriculture Vatimi Rayalu will be also speaking at the business forum.
“It is a pleasure to note that we will be having not one but two cabinet ministers attending the event as the honorable Minister of Agriculture will be also talking on the recent progress and updates in the agriculture and primary industries sector across the country,” Dr Raju said.
“I wish to also thank the other speakers who will be taking out time from their busy schedules to join us for the business forum and not forgetting our chief sponsors – Fiji Care without whom it would not have been possible to organise a forum of this magnitude,” Dr Raju added.
He said close to 100 delegates representing a wide cross section of the business and corporate community are expected to be part of the business forum.
Without mincing his words, Dr Raju said there are many pressing issues to be discussed during the forum.
“We are all aware of Fiji’s untapped potential in agriculture, minerals and mining, fisheries and forests,” Dr Raju said.
“It’s our aim to explore how the current coalition government is working towards making Fiji self-sufficient and at the same time how the agriculture primary industries can become a major growth factor for exports, thereby contributing towards our national GDP.
“We often talk about Fiji’s potential in all the areas as mentioned but are we seriously working in the right direction?
“We cannot continue to rely on tourism although it remains as the most important industry that cannot be ignored. However, we need to seriously look at all the other sectors that can add more towards our national GDP.
“These are vexing questions that we would like to address in the business forum and we would appreciate to the point and accurate answers from the relevant stakeholders,” Dr Raju said.
He said the alternative industries as mentioned above will provide opportunities for employment and retention of skilled workforce.
“We are losing skilled labour and replacing them with unknown and unskilled foreign workers mainly from Asian countries. We cannot make Fiji a rich country in the next 15-30 years without talking about how to reverse the brain-drain and the other important and critical issues.
“The private sector is absolutely pivotal in supporting industrial growth and the primary industries. An honest and robust debate is warranted. There’s always a lot of talk about improving the national economy and the GDP and I believe it is now time for action,” Dr Raju concluded.
ENDS…
For more information, please contact NCCI President Dr Ram Raju
dsmnadi@gmail.com | +679 9920444 | www.nadichamber.com.fj
