Pacific WTO members urged to support vaccine move
Pacific islands members of the World Trade Organisation are being urged to support a proposal designed to make COVID-19 vaccines more available to developing countries. Fiji and Vanuatu have already joined as sponsors
Fiji’s Reserve Bank cuts select interest rates
The Reserve Bank of Fiji has reduced interest rates in a bid to reduce borrowing costs for businesses and households. Commercial banks and licensed credit institutions operating in Fiji can now access funding from the
Fiji GDP down 9.7%: Reserve Bank
The Reserve Bank of Fiji reports that for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Fiji’s government recorded a net deficit of F$905.0 million (-9.7% of GDP). Government expenditure ($2,256 million) almost
The new diplomacy: Vaccines and soft power
Despite efforts to coordinate coronavirus vaccine delivery on a regional and global basis, Pacific Island governments are increasingly meeting their vaccine needs through bilateral arrangements, a situation which is
Putting Fiji first; a Chiefly sacrifice
By Netani Rika When Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara sailed over the horizon to his chiefly home on Lakeba in May 2000, it was perhaps the most incongruous exit of any Fijian politician. As the patrol boat Kiro carried
Opinion: COVID-19, the Western Front and Stealing Thunder
By Dennis Rounds Faced with a second COVID-19 lockdown, just 12 months after the first, I’ve convinced myself that I now have a better understanding of the term “Western Front”. During the First World War, a large
Samoa on tenterhooks
By Monica Miller Almost two months after voters in Samoa went to the polls to elect a new Parliament , the 51 men and women whom voters picked in the 9 April general elections had still not been sworn in at the time of
Luve ni yali: Lost son of a seasonal worker
By Satish Chand Luve ni yali, a newborn, was issued a fresh certificate of identity by a Pacific diplomatic mission in Canberra so that he could be repatriated home with his mother, a temporary migrant worker who
Summits on the road to Glasgow
By Nic Maclellan As countries prepare for the next round of global climate negotiations in Glasgow, major powers are organising a series of summits and initiatives to ramp up ambition towards the targets set by
Giving it his best shot
Ernest Gibson wondered if it was a hoax when he was first contacted about joining the Earthshot Prize Council as it came completely out of the blue. The Council, which includes Prince William, Queen Rania Al
Connected by the ocean and history
The University of the South Pacific has a proud history of student activism. ATOM (Against Testing on Moruroa) formed in Fiji in 1970, and many of its founding members were USP students and academics. In 1975,
Opinion: Managing leadership for Pacific regionalism
By Ambassador Kaliopate Tavola If there was a time when leadership was critical for Pacific regionalism, it would be now. A new Secretary General (SG), former Cook Islands Prime Minister, Henry Puna, is taking over the
How two unis are responding to COVID
When Islands Business met with leaders from the University of the South Pacific recently, they were just hours away from making the decision to cancel the year’s graduation ceremonies in Fiji. It was the start of the
