FIJIS Deputy Prime Minister urges shift from aid and tourism ties to jobs, infrastructure and two-way trade.
“Fiji wants Australia to help build a more productive economy, not deepen a relationship based on dependency,” Manoa Kamikamica said
He urges businesses to invest in renewable energy, infrastructure, agriculture and maritime industries as the Pacific faces sharper geopolitical and economic pressures.
“We do not seek partnerships based on dependency,” Kamikamica told a Fiji-Australia business forum.
“We seek partnerships based on mutual benefit, mutual respect and shared responsibility.”
His remarks cast the economic relationship as a test of Fiji’s sovereignty as well as a commercial opportunity. Fiji welcomes engagement from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, China, the European Union and other partners, he said, but only where cooperation respects Pacific priorities and strengthens local capability.
“This is not a contradiction. It is an expression of our sovereignty,” Kamikamica said.
Tourism provides foundation, but Fiji wants more
Australia remains Fiji’s largest development partner and one of its most important economic partners, he said.
Tourism shows the scale of the existing connection: Fiji recorded 986,367 visitor arrivals in 2025, with Australian visitors accounting for 45.9 per cent of the total, according to figures cited in his speech.
Fiji also recorded 105,791 visitors in July and was on track to reach 1 million arrivals for the year, he said.
But Kamikamica said the next phase of the relationship must extend beyond tourism and traditional areas of commerce.
“Our objective should not be simply more investment. It should be better investment,” he said, defining that as capital that creates jobs, transfers knowledge, strengthens supply chains and adds value within Fiji over the long term.
He identified renewable energy, climate-resilient infrastructure, agriculture and agro-processing, fisheries, the blue economy, logistics, maritime services, workforce mobility and technology partnerships as priority areas for deeper cooperation.
Growth depends on fixing the cost of doing business
Kamikamica acknowledged that Fiji’s economic recovery remains vulnerable to energy prices, geopolitical tensions and external shocks. He cited International Monetary Fund projections for growth of 2.4 per cent in 2026 and 2.7 per cent in 2027, while calling for a shift from recovery toward stronger and more sustainable productivity growth.
The government’s task, he said, is to create conditions in which companies can invest, innovate, hire and expand. That means more than tax incentives: businesses need policy certainty, efficient public services, reliable infrastructure, finance, skills and access to markets.
“Incentives alone will not make Fiji competitive,” Kamikamica said.
The country must reduce the cost of doing business, simplify government processes, improve service delivery and strengthen the integrity and predictability of public institutions, he said.
Fiji’s standard corporate tax rate is 25 per cent, he said, adding that the government’s reform agenda includes digital transformation and public-sector reform.
Infrastructure and skills are central to the pitch
The government is seeking greater public-private and international investment in roads, ports, airports, water systems, energy and digital connectivity, Kamikamica said.
The goal is not infrastructure for its own sake, but “productive infrastructure” that lowers costs, improves resilience, supports trade and allows businesses to operate more effectively across the country.
Kamikamica also placed skills and labour mobility at the centre of the Fiji-Australia relationship.
He called for greater investment in education, technical and vocational training, digital skills and leadership, alongside pathways for Fijians to gain international experience without weakening the domestic skills base.
“Industry knows the skills it needs. Government can help create the policy environment,” he said, calling for Australia to support training, experience and knowledge exchange.
Rural economy must move beyond the cities
Kamikamica urged Australian and Fijian companies to look beyond Fiji’s main urban centres, saying villages, islands and maritime communities hold untapped potential in agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, renewable energy and cultural industries.
“They are left behind because they have been left out, but no more,” he said.
Unlocking that potential will require better transport and digital links, access to finance, business support and stronger connections to regional value chains, he said.
Partnerships with rural producers, agro-processors and maritime logistics operators could broaden growth and create more opportunities for women and young entrepreneurs.
Peace is an economic enablement
Kamikamica tied the investment agenda to Fiji’s broader regional diplomacy, arguing that security in the Pacific must include climate change, critical infrastructure, technology, economic resilience and the welfare of communities, rather than traditional defence alone.
“Peace is not only a security objective. Peace is an economic enablement,” he said, arguing that businesses invest where there is stability, supply chains function where there is predictability and investment grows where institutions are trusted.
He said the agreements and frameworks referenced in his speech including the Vuvale Union Treaty and the Ocean of Peace Alliance, signed on July 6, should translate political trust into practical economic projects and wider regional resilience.
“The Pacific is not simply a space for others to convene. We are the Pacific,” Kamikamica said, insisting that Pacific states must have agency in shaping the region’s future.
He challenged the Fiji-Australia Business Council to turn dialogue into investment and cooperation into projects.
“Let us move from dialogue to projects and from investment to long-lasting economic progress,” he said.
Kamikamica closed with a direct appeal to Australian and Fijian businesses: “Invest with us, innovate with us, and build with us.”
