SUVA, Fiji – The inaugural Pacific Regional Digital Trade Workshop kicked off today in Suva, Fiji, bringing together public and private sector stakeholders from Fiji and Pacific PACER Plus countries. Workshops such as this demonstrates the continued commitment of the Australian Government and the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) to support and strengthen the skills and capacity of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) on trade in services, digital trade and e-commerce.

The two-day workshop brings together government officials from the eight Pacific PACER Plus countries such as Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu as well as Fiji.

With 60 percent of all exports in the region linked to the services sector, services play a key role in the Pacific’s economic growth and development.

The two-day workshop aims to support PICs to engage effectively in the fast-evolving digital trade space, understand digital trade and e-commerce provisions, and support countries' capacity to negotiate and implement these provisions in trade agreements.

In the margins of the workshop, a two-day proposal clinic will be delivered to help PACER Plus countries develop bankable project proposals that align with regional and international trade commitments and boost trade in services, e-commerce, and investment in the region.

Mr. Shaheen Ali (left), Permanent Secretary to Fiji's Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, SMEs and Communications and Mr. Andrew Shepherd, Australian Deputy High Commissioner to Fiji at the .Pacific Regional Digital Trade Workshop.

Mr. Shaheen Ali, Permanent Secretary to Fiji's Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, SMEs and Communications, opened the workshop, stating: "Workshops and training programmes like these are invaluable in building our capacities and equipping us with the tools needed to better understand the highly technical provisions related to digital trade. As we deepen our knowledge and expertise, we position ourselves to negotiate future agreements with provisions that not only support and facilitate digital trade but also align with our regional interests," said Mr. Ali.

Mr. Andrew Shepherd, Australian Deputy High Commissioner to Fiji, also spoke to the importance of the initiative, saying: "The workshop will continue our trajectory of building a community of practice and peer to peer learning in the Pacific.  Also, with the relevant information and a community of practitioners at our fingertips, the world of e-commerce and digital trade is smaller than we think."

-ENDS-

To download the high-resolution images, please click here for Image 1; here for Image 2; and here for Image 3.