In this bulletin:
1. PACIFIC — Key Pacific leader pushes for ‘united front’ against China’s missile tests
2. PACIFIC — Former Forum SG Taylor calls for Pacific leadership grounded in culture and collective action
3. PACIFIC — Samoa’s former prime minister calls for Pacific governments to share power with citizens
4. SOL — PM Wale calls for coordinated development support ahead of LDC graduation
5. HAWAII — Storm Lala damages bridges and more than 100 homes on Hawaii’s Big Island
6. FIJI — Fiji PM Rabuka to challenge findings against him in CoI ruling
7. SOL — Solomon Islands and Australia open new Western Border Outpost
8. PACNEWS BIZ — One Pacific, Naoero Airlines explore commercial, operational cooperation
9. PACNEWS BIZ — Opposition MP Kumar questions Fiji Airways economy meals despite high airfares
10. PACNEWS BIZ — Fiji targets major expansion of digital economy
11. PACNEWS BIZ — SPC advertises Deputy Director role for Coastal Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme
12. PACNEWS BIZ — Fiji cattle TB prevalence below 1 per cent
13. PACNEWS BIZ — BSP to build new Headquarters
14. PACNEWS DIGEST — Creating pathways for Pacific climate solutions
PAC – DIPLOMACY: SMH PACNEWS 1: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Key Pacific leader pushes for ‘united front’ against China’s missile tests
KOROR, 18 AUGUST 2026 (SMH)—The incoming chair of the Pacific Islands Forum has urged leaders to unite against their region being used as a testing ground for nuclear-capable weapons, warning China’s recent ballistic missile launch sent a menacing message.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in July the forum was drafting a “very strong” joint statement condemning China’s test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile fitted with a dummy warhead, but division within the grouping has prevented a forceful statement from being issued.
“This is something that we should be united in our voice about,” he told this masthead.
“It’s important for us in the Pacific, especially being so close to China, that any activity that happens in the Pacific should be transparent, and we should all know about missiles flying overhead over our area. I think we have a right as countries to be notified.”
Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr, who will host the Pacific Islands Forum at the end of this month, said he was hoping to achieve a “united front” against China’s missile test, which came with only a few hours’ notice to select countries.
“This is something that we should be united in our voice about,” he told this masthead.
“It’s important for us in the Pacific, especially being so close to China, that any activity that happens in the Pacific should be transparent, and we should all know about missiles flying overhead over our area. I think we have a right as countries to be notified.”
Whipps said the test had raised “concern and unnecessary anxiety” within the region and delivered a disturbing warning to small Pacific nations. Palau is a group of hundreds of islands in the Western Pacific, but has a population of less than 20,000.
“I guess from China’s standpoint they want to let us know that, any one of your islands, we can take out,” he said.
Whipps questioned why China test-fired the nuclear-capable missile near Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands rather than the vast open ocean between China and the United States.
“We understand it’s international waters, but [these missiles] are flying right over us, and not only that, they’re landing in the heart of the Pacific,” he said.
Pacific foreign ministers called for “transparency and reassurance” on missile testing in the region in a statement issued last week that did not directly criticise China.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa told reporters following the foreign ministers’ meeting in Fiji that there are “mixed feelings on how the statement should be formatted, whether just to make an outright statement particularly on that single incident, but there are other ideas that it should be a general statement covering any tests in the Pacific”.
Nauru and Kiribati have been singled out for blocking a stronger statement because of fear of angering China, but Waqa denied they were the roadblocks.
“They just honestly placed their position so that others can consider and see how best they can all contribute,” he said.
Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019, and Nauru followed in 2024.
Beijing defended the test as a “routine” part of its military training, insisting it complied with international law and was “not targeted at any specific country or target”.
But a slew of regional leaders criticised the test, with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale declaring it was “not the act of a friend”.
Whipps, who has led Palau since 2021, said he was open to Wale’s idea of a Pacific-wide security pact, while noting it would have to comply with his nation’s longstanding arrangements with the U.S.
“Anything to promote peace and stability in the region I think is important.”
Whipps said he would put climate change at the top of the agenda at the PIF Leaders Forum, including securing more funding for the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), a fund created to help vulnerable nations cope with higher temperatures and rising sea levels.
Funding for critical infrastructure like ports and sustainable fishing would also be key priorities for the meeting, he said.
“If we provide 50 per cent of the skipjack tuna that’s caught in the world, we want as much of that tuna processed in the Pacific, so the value stays in the Pacific,” he said.
Whipps said he remained hopeful some world leaders could be convinced to travel to the Pacific for meetings ahead of November’s COP31 climate change conference in Turkey despite little signs of enthusiasm so far.
Australian and Pacific Island officials are scrambling to avoid a diplomatic embarrassment caused by non-Pacific leaders declining to show up at the pre-COP events in Fiji and Tuvalu, scheduled as part of a compromise deal between Turkey and Australia, who were competing to host the main event.
“I haven’t given up hope. I think we need to continue to work on getting as many leaders there as possible,” Whipps said.
If world leaders cannot travel, then relevant ministers should be invited to represent their nations, he said.
“Having the highest level representation is important, and we have to get leaders, ministers, as many as we can get. That should be the goal, and we’re working with Australia to encourage them to come,” he said…PACNEWS
PAC – LEADERSHIP: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS 1: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Former Forum SG Taylor calls for Pacific leadership grounded in culture and collective action
SUVA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS)—Former Pacific Islands Forum secretary general Dame Meg Taylor has called for Pacific leadership to be grounded in the region’s own philosophies, relationships and cultural values rather than borrowed models.
Speaking at the 2nd Pasifika Philosophies, Leadership, Weaving Futures Conference, Taylor reflected on her experiences growing up in Papua New Guinea and working across the Pacific, saying leadership must be understood beyond formal positions and individual authority.
She said her early experiences of traditional leadership showed her both the strength of collective decision-making and the limits of systems that excluded women from formal spaces of deliberation.
Taylor said women and elders had long played important leadership roles within Pacific communities, often without holding formal titles.
“Leadership lives in relationship, not only in position,” she said, stressing the need to recognise leadership carried by women, elders and community members who hold societies together without official positions.
Drawing on her experience at the Pacific Islands Forum, she said collective leadership required governments, civil society, young people and elders to have a genuine place in regional decision-making.
She recalled efforts during her time as secretary general to bring greater public participation into regional processes, including consultations with civil society and communities that contributed to the Framework for Pacific Regionalism.
Taylor said consensus was deeply rooted in Pacific societies but became harder to maintain when scaled from villages to the regional level, particularly when external interests pressured Pacific countries.
“Collective leadership is not the absence of ego; it is the ongoing and unglamorous work of making space for others inside decisions that would be easier to make alone,” she said.
She pointed to the Blue Pacific narrative as an example of what collective leadership could achieve, saying it provided the region with a shared story grounded in its ocean identity and common cultural concepts.
However, she warned that Pacific unity could weaken when countries faced sustained diplomatic pressure from larger powers.
“Our initial unified positions on the environment, on nuclear waste, on deep sea mining, on self-determination — these have softened again and again under sustained diplomatic pressure from larger powers,” she said.
Taylor said a strong regional identity and shared story were essential to protecting Pacific interests.
“A region without a shared story and a shared identity will always be undermined,” she said.
She also called for legal instruments and policy frameworks that reflect the region’s own philosophies to support Pacific leadership.
A whole-of-life approach to leadership, she said, should recognise people as relational beings with obligations to previous and future generations, while treating land, ocean and people as an interconnected whole.
Taylor challenged participants to consider whether the Pacific had the legal architecture, policy frameworks, political will and collective commitment needed to protect its way of life.
She said the task for the current generation was to strengthen the foundations of Pacific sovereignty through relationships, collective practice and locally grounded philosophies.
“If there is one thing I am certain of after a life spent in the spaces between family, custom, and political leadership, it is that leadership that lasts is never the leadership that stands alone,” she said…..PACNEWS
PAC – POLITICS/LEADERSHIP: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS 1: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Samoa’s former prime minister calls for Pacific governments to share power with citizens
APIA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS)—Samoa’s former prime minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa has called for governments across the Pacific to create formal platforms where citizens, non-government organisations and governments can work together.
“Because we are small, we need to pull all our resources,” she said, adding that “our governments are not enough”.
Mataʻafa said Pacific governments must allow people outside government to play a larger role in the region’s progress and development.
“We need everyone to be standing up and playing their part,” she said during the 2nd Pasifika Philosophies Leadership
“And the challenge for our governments is to allow that to happen.”
She said intergovernmental institutions were inviting broad, cross-sectoral representation to meetings, but the information gathered was then being fitted into government frameworks.
“They want to harvest the information, the data, the stories, but then it has to be neatly fitted into the frameworks of these government agencies,” she said.
Mataʻafa recommended that the region develop “formal, officially acknowledged platforms” where governments, citizens and non-government sectors could continue to exchange views.
“Where governments may have to follow a particular path because of the framing that governments work under, we must also look at how there is continuance of this broader forum and the interchange and exchange between peoples, citizens, and our respective governments,” she said.
Her remarks drew on more than 40 years in government and a long involvement at the cabinet level, which she said ran from 1991 up to last year. She described silence at the cabinet table as a barrier to robust collective decision-making.
“Someone say their piece, then suddenly there’s sort of a tacit agreement,” Mataʻafa said. She described the practice as “the courtesy of silence”: “If you don’t speak up on my issue, I promise not to speak up on your issue.”
Mataʻafa said leadership required more than authority. In the Samoan context, she said, chiefs or matais were also caretakers responsible for people, property, assets and spiritual elements within the family, village, district and national politics.
“We not only lead, but we also take care of people,” she said.
She linked that understanding of leadership to her own path into public life. Mataʻafa said she received the high-ranking Fiamē title at the age of 20, after her father died when she was 18.
Her title was contested in the Lands and Titles Court, where she said there were 23 parties and 13 candidates.
“I’m telling you this story to underscore the importance of the rule of law, and actually being able to benefit from the protections of that rule of law,” she said.
Mataʻafa said her vision for Samoa had been “a samoa where people want to stay, and where they have a stake in things, and where they will invest on themselves”.
Mataʻafa extended that question to the wider Pacific: “What is it for us in the Pacific that will make people want to stay in our region and invest in our region for the progress and development of our peoples?”
She ended with a Samoan saying about communal, prayerful support, saying leadership was not more important than the support of those around it.
“Leadership is not more important than the prayerful support of those around us,” she said…..PACNEWS
SOL – DIPLOMACY: SOL GOVT PACNEWS 1: Tue 18 Aug 2026
PM Wale calls for coordinated development support ahead of LDC graduation
HONIARA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (SOL GOVT) — Prime Minister Matthew Wale has called on Solomon Islands’ development partners to better align their support with national priorities and help deliver tangible results for the people.
Speaking at the opening of the Solomon Islands Development Partnership Summit 2026, Prime Minister Wale said stronger cooperation between Government and development partners was essential to achieving the country’s development goals.
He acknowledged the significant contribution of development partners, noting that between 2016 and 2021, they contributed SBD$8.8 billion (US$1,096,718,404) of the SBD$13.6 billion (US$1,694,917,855) mobilised for development.
Prime Minister Wale said the GREAT Coalition Government’s reform agenda is focused on strengthening institutions, restoring trust, upholding the rule of law and ensuring Government serves the people.
“We are rebuilding trust between Government and our people, and between Government and our development partners, anchored in openness, mutual respect, transparency and accountability,” he said.
He said the Government’s priorities include Free Education, affordable electricity, stronger institutions, responsible decentralisation and people-centred development.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the need to transform and diversify the economy by strengthening agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism, mining, energy, commerce and small and medium enterprises, while building the country’s manufacturing base.
“We are resolved to transform this economy and widen the horizon of opportunity for every Solomon Islander,” he said.
Prime Minister Wale urged development partners to support coordinated national programmes, increase the use of local content and national systems, and ensure development investments create greater benefits for Solomon Islanders and local businesses.
“Let this Summit mark the passage from dialogue to action, from commitments to implementation, and from scattered individual projects to a coordinated national development effort,” he said.
With Solomon Islands set to graduate from Least Developed Country status in December 2027, the Prime Minister also called for continued support during the transition towards greater self-reliance.
He said the Development Partnership Summit will become an annual event, with the next Summit expected in 2027.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Matthew Wale has welcomed renewed assurances from the United Nations (UN) of its continued commitment to supporting Solomon Islands’ development priorities, including the country’s economic transformation and transition from Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
The assurance was given during a courtesy meeting today at the Prime Minister’s Office between Prime Minister Wale and UN Resident Coordinator for Solomon Islands, Dirk Wagener and his delegation.
Wagener highlighted the UN’s significant presence in Solomon Islands, with around 140 staff permanently based in the country and 13 UN agencies delivering programmes across key development areas.
He said the UN delivered close to US$40 million in programmes and assistance in Solomon Islands last year, making the country one of the UN’s largest single-country presences in the Pacific.
Wagener also reaffirms the UN’s commitment to working closely with the GREAT Coalition Government by expressing the UN’s readiness to support stronger coordination among Solomon Islands’ development partners, including bilateral and multilateral partners.
He added, better coordination would allow development partners to provide more coherent and consistent support aligned with the Government’s priorities, including through larger and consolidated programmes rather than fragmented projects.
The UN Resident Coordinator also assured the Prime Minister that, despite ongoing UN reforms and global funding pressures, the Pacific remains a priority. He said that the UN continues to strongly support Small Island Developing States and Solomon Islands’ journey towards LDC graduation.
He noted that the Pacific has so far been relatively protected from reductions in UN staffing and resources because of the region’s structural vulnerabilities and development challenges.
However, he cautioned that continued support would require collective efforts to maintain international interest and development resources for the Pacific.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wale welcomed the assurance, describing the news as encouraging for Solomon Islands.
He also outlined the Government’s economic policy direction, noting that much of its development agenda is informed by the need to transform and diversify the Solomon Islands economy and move beyond dependence on extractive activities.
The meeting reaffirmed the importance of a strong partnership between the Government and the United Nations in advancing Solomon Islands’ national development priorities and ensuring international support remains aligned with the country’s long-term vision….PACNEWS
HAWAII – HURRICAN DAMAGE: THE GUARDIAN PACNEWS 1: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Storm Lala damages bridges and more than 100 homes on Hawaii’s Big Island
HONOLULU, 18 AUGUST 2026 (THE GUARDIAN) —Cleanup efforts started on Hawaii after Hurricane Lala rolled past the Big Island and dumped heavy rain across the U.S Pacific state.
Lala was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it grazed the islands, but it brought heavy rains and winds strong enough to sweep about 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island.
Josh Green, Hawaii’s governor, said officials were still investigating whether there had been any storm-related deaths.
“We’re praying that there are essentially no fatalities. The question is a difficult one to answer in some ways,” Green said.
Randy Collins, Hawaii’s emergency management director, also warned that there were still dangers to face even though the storm had passed.
“Many casualties often happen after the disaster,” Collins told reporters. “As people are cleaning things up, they’re working with heavy equipment, chainsaws, generators. They’re working around downed power lines and so forth. That’s when the casualties come.”
Green, the Hawaii governor, estimated the storm caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage statewide, with more than 100 homes and several bridges damaged on the Big Island.
Parts of a major highway in the Big Island’s south-east collapsed, blocking road access to the town of Pahala that has the region’s only hospital.
“It’s complete and utter devastation,” Jeanne Kapela told Honolulu Civil Beat. “Families have lost their homes; the entire community is impacted,” the US representative said.
On the island of Oahu, the Honolulu fire department had received more than 600 weather-related responses by noon local time Sunday, including 147 reports of downed trees. There were also roofs blown off, downed power lines and one swimmer who had to be rescued, a city statement said.
Lala was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm in the early hours of Sunday, but the National Hurricane Centre warned that it could become a hurricane again by Wednesday.
Hawaii was last hit by a “major” hurricane – meaning category 3, 4, or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale – in 1992, when Hurricane Iniki caused at least six deaths and billions of dollars in damage.
The islands were menaced by Hurricane Fausto last month, before the storm weakened and skirted north of the island chain.
Lala comes as a powerful El Niño has formed in the central equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Temperatures are already so high that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a 69 percent chance of a “historic event that would exceed the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950” when it peaks between October and December.
El Niño, a natural climate pattern when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become unusually warm, tends to promote hurricane activity in the Pacific while suppressing it in the Atlantic.
The human-caused climate crisis can amplify El Niño’s impacts because a warmer ocean and atmosphere increase the availability of energy and moisture for extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall….PACNEWS
FIJI – COURTS: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 1: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Fiji PM Rabuka to challenge findings against him in CoI ruling
SUVA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (FIJI SUN)—Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says he will appeal the part of the High Court judgment concerning his name and actions in the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report into former FICAC Commissioner Barbara Malimali.
Speaking to the media Monday, Rabuka said he would not challenge the entire report and would rely on his lawyers to determine the grounds for the appeal.
The decision follows the High Court’s recent ruling declaring the CoI report “null and void” after legal challenges were brought against the inquiry and its findings.
Rabuka said he was not the author of the CoI report but had made recommendations, and the decision on the appeal would be guided by his lawyers…PACNEWS
SOL – BORDER OUTPOST: SOL/GOVT/ PACNEWS PACNEWS 1: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Solomon Islands and Australia open new Western Border Outpost
HONIARA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (SOL GOVT/PACNEWS) —Solomon Islands and Australia have strengthened cooperation on border management and maritime security with the official opening of a new Western Border Outpost in the Shortland Islands.
Solomon Islands deputy Prime Minister Francis Sade and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles officially opened the facility Monday.
Marles said the opening demonstrated the strength of Australia’s partnership with Solomon Islands.
“The official opening of the Western Border Outpost marks an important milestone in Australia’s longstanding partnership with Solomon Islands,” he said.
The jointly delivered outpost brings together officials from the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, Customs, Immigration and Biosecurity under one roof, improving coordination and strengthening border management.
The facility is a key milestone in the longstanding security partnership between Solomon Islands and Australia.
Once formally handed over, the facility will become a sovereign Solomon Islands asset, with offices, accommodation and a wharf capable of supporting Solomon Islands’ Guardian-class patrol boats.
Australia has invested more than AUD$100 million(US$71 million) in the project.
The project has also provided economic opportunities for communities in the area, creating 368 jobs and more than 1,000 contracts for local businesses.
The new outpost is expected to strengthen Solomon Islands’ ability to manage its western border while supporting maritime security and national sovereignty……PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
NAURU – AIRLINE: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS BIZ: Tue 18 Aug 2026
One Pacific, Naoero Airlines explore commercial, operational cooperation
YAREN, 18 AUGUST 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS)—One Pacific Airways, Naoero Airlines, are exploring commercial and operational cooperation, including flight scheduling, passenger connections, cargo and maintenance.
The airlines concluded discussions in Singapore as part of an ongoing process to identify practical and commercially viable opportunities that could benefit both airlines and improve connectivity across the Pacific.
Potential areas of cooperation include ticketing and web systems, operational support and other commercial opportunities. The discussions are also focused on how the airlines can complement each other’s operations and develop a potential framework for cooperation.
“We see opportunities for the two airlines to work together in a practical and commercially focused way,” One Pacific Airways Founder and President Chih Yuan Wang said.
“Our discussions have been focused on identifying areas where we can complement each other and create better connectivity and commercial opportunities.”
Naoero Airlines Chairman Charleston Deiye said the discussions presented “a positive opportunity” for the airlines to explore how they could work together.
“We are looking at practical areas of cooperation that can provide commercial benefits to both airlines and, where appropriate, improve connectivity for our passengers and communities,” Deiye said.
The two airlines will continue discussions on potential areas of cooperation. Any future arrangements will be subject to further commercial negotiations and the necessary regulatory and government approvals.
“At this stage, the discussions are focused on exploring opportunities and developing a potential framework for cooperation, with specific commercial commitments to be announced as progressed,” he said…..PACNEWS
FIJI – AIRLINE: FIJI TIMES PACNEWS BIZ: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Opposition MP Kumar questions Fiji Airways economy meals despite high airfares
SUVA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (FIJI TIMES)–Fiji Opposition MP Premila Kumar has criticised the quality of meals served to Fiji Airways economy-class passengers, saying the airline’s award-winning reputation should be reflected in the experience of ordinary travellers.
Speaking in Parliament Monday, Kumar questioned why passengers paying thousands of dollars for international travel were being served what she described as inadequate meals.
“It is not good enough, particularly for an award-winning airline,” Kumar said.
She said food played an important role in Fijian culture and questioned the standard of meals offered to passengers.
“In our culture, food plays a very big role. So how can you just serve a sandwich?” she asked.
Kumar said passengers flying on Fiji Airways were not necessarily travelling on a low-cost carrier where limited or no complimentary meals might be expected.
She told Parliament that a return ticket from Nadi to Sydney could cost more than $2,000(US$1,000), while an economy-class return trip between Nadi and Vancouver could cost more than $6,000(US$3,000).
“This is what the people of this country are paying if they have to travel. Yet passengers are served with such poor-quality food,” she said.
Kumar also suggested the airline could consider incorporating more recognisably Fijian food into its onboard offering, including the traditional long loaf.
She said that rather than simply offering a bun, Fiji Airways could explore food options that better reflected Fiji and its culture.
Kumar argued that an airline promoting itself internationally as a world-class and award-winning carrier needed to ensure those standards extended beyond its branding.
“If Fiji Airways wants to promote itself as an award-winning, world-class airline, then that standard must be reflected not only in its branding and awards, but also in the everyday experience of the appropriate percentage sitting in economy class,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Viliame Gavoka has urged MPs to support and celebrate Fiji Airways rather than focus on what he described as “insignificant issues”.
Speaking in Parliament, Gavoka defended the national airline as Parliament considered a Government guarantee for an additional $200 million(US$100 million) in Fiji Airways borrowings.
“We need to support Fiji Airways,” Gavoka said.
“We should not be picking on insignificant issues at a time like this, and we should support them and celebrate what they are doing.”
His comments came amid criticism in Parliament over aspects of the airline’s service and operations.
Gavoka pointed to Fiji Airways’ membership in the oneworld alliance as an indication of the standards the airline is required to maintain.
“You don’t just become a oneworld [member] unless you subscribe to a different standard of service,” he said.
Gavoka said the airline’s management and operational structure were necessary to support a product capable of meeting the quality standards required for membership of the global airline alliance.
He also sought to clarify the proposed $200 million (US$100 million) Government guarantee, stressing that the Government was not giving Fiji Airways $200 million(US$100 million).
“We are guaranteeing a loan, and for those of us who understand this, we are not handing Fiji Airways $200 million(US$100 million),” Gavoka said.
“We are guaranteeing that they will be borrowing based on their own borrowing capability and who they may deal with.”
Gavoka also pointed to Fiji Airways’ recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, when the aviation industry was severely affected by international travel restrictions.
“They came through COVID-19,” he said.
He said arrangements had been made to support the airline during that period and maintained that Fiji Airways was now servicing those loans well.
Gavoka urged Parliament to recognise the airline’s performance and the importance of supporting the national carrier rather than concentrating on issues he considered minor……PACNEWS
FIJI – DIGITAL ECONOMY: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS BIZ: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Fiji targets major expansion of digital economy
SUVA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS) —Fiji is targeting 40,000 new information and communications technology (ICT) jobs over the next five years as the Government accelerates its digital transformation and strengthens national cybersecurity.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Industries, Commerce, Business Development and Public Enterprises, Manoa Kamikamica, outlined the government’s digital ambitions while speaking at the Annual Fiji CyberSec Conference in Suva.
Kamikamica said the National Digital Strategy 2025–2030 sets out the government’s plans to expand digital services, improve connectivity and embed cybersecurity across public and private sector digital infrastructure.
The strategy targets 80 per cent online accessibility of Government services, 80 per cent digital inclusion and 50 percent 5G coverage, alongside the creation of 40,000 ICT jobs.
He said the government was also progressing a national digital identity system and data protection legislation, which would support the wider digital transformation of government services.
“The digital future is very, very bright,” Kamikamica said.
“But we all have a responsibility to drive this industry, ensuring that it’s not only inclusive, but that it is secure.”
Kamikamica said Fiji was also positioning itself to attract greater investment in the ICT and cybersecurity sectors, including through the development of new digital infrastructure.
He highlighted Google’s planned USD$200 million investment in a data centre and operations centre at Natadola, saying improved connectivity would create opportunities for business process outsourcing, cybersecurity companies and other digital services.
Fiji’s business process outsourcing sector already employs about 8,000 people and generates around $300 million (US$150 million) in foreign exchange, he said.
Kamikamica said the sector could become one of Fiji’s major economic contributors alongside tourism if the country continued investing in skills and its digital ecosystem.
Cybersecurity, he said, would remain central to the Government’s digital agenda, with Fiji working to strengthen its legal and institutional framework for tackling cybercrime.
He said Fiji had signed the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime and was advancing work on international cybercrime frameworks, including the Budapest Convention.
“These are not necessary policy gestures,” Kamikamica said, describing the measures as a signal that Fiji’s legal architecture would support the enforcement of cybercrime laws, the prosecution of offenders and cooperation on cross-border cybercrime.
He said government was also working to establish a national Computer Emergency Response Team and had undertaken extensive mapping of government services to determine priorities for digital rollout.
Kamikamica acknowledged that government could not address the country’s cybersecurity challenges alone and would need to work closely with the private sector and technical experts.
“Government can’t really do it, so it needs to reach out to private sector, needs to reach out to experts,” he said.
He said this cooperation would be critical to ensuring Fiji’s digital ambitions were matched by practical cybersecurity measures.
Kamikamica said the government was also working to digitise key public services, including business registration and approval processes, with further systems expected to be rolled out over the coming year.
He said Fiji’s digital transformation presented significant opportunities for economic growth but stressed that security and inclusion would need to remain at the centre of the country’s progress….PACNEWS
PAC – FISHERIES: PACNEWS PACNEWS BIZ: Tue 18 Aug 2026
SPC advertises Deputy Director role for Coastal Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme
NOUMEA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (PACNEWS)—The Pacific Community (SPC) is seeking an experienced fisheries and aquaculture professional to take up the position of Deputy Director of its Coastal Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme (CFAP), based in Noumea, New Caledonia.
The position was advertised on 17 August 2026, with applications closing on 23 August 2026.
The successful candidate will provide strategic leadership, management and technical oversight of CFAP, working through three section heads responsible for coastal fisheries livelihoods and management, coastal fisheries science, and aquaculture.
The role will ensure the programme’s annual work plans align with the SPC Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems (FAME) Business Plan and SPC Strategic Plan, while responding to the needs and priorities of SPC members.
The Deputy Director will also be responsible for resource mobilisation, donor engagement and reporting, ensuring the programme has adequate funding to deliver its work.
Key responsibilities include overseeing the implementation of CFAP’s annual work programme, managing staff performance, supporting recruitment, authorising travel and procurement, and overseeing donor reporting.
The position will also coordinate the development of major projects and funding proposals, assist with programme budgeting and ensure financial and activity reporting meets donor requirements.
The successful candidate will oversee the annual Regional Technical Meeting on Coastal Fisheries and Aquaculture and ensure that agreed outcomes and actions are followed up.
The role will also involve strengthening cooperation with other Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP) agencies, academic institutions and non-government organisations.
The Deputy Director will represent CFAP in regional and global forums, including inter-agency groups such as the Marine Sector Working Group and Community-Based Fisheries Dialogue.
The position will also oversee communication of CFAP’s work within SPC and with members, the scientific community and the wider public, including contributions to technical and scientific publications.
Applicants must have a PhD in fisheries, aquaculture or a related marine resources discipline, or an equivalent combination of knowledge and experience.
Candidates must have at least 15 years of relevant experience in areas such as coastal fisheries, aquaculture, fisheries science, resource management, ecosystem-based fisheries management, fisheries monitoring or climate change.
They must also have at least 10 years of experience in regional project or programme management, including team leadership and staff supervision.
SPC is looking for candidates with experience leading multidisciplinary teams involving fisheries, marine and aquaculture scientists, managers, economists, social scientists and other specialists.
Strong project and financial management skills, including resource mobilisation and the preparation of funding proposals, are also required.
Applicants must demonstrate strong English-language communication and report-writing skills, as well as experience presenting management and scientific advice to different audiences.
The contract is budgeted for six months.
The position is classified as Band 14 under SPC’s 2026 salary scale, with a starting salary of SDR 6,595 to SDR 8,147 per month, equivalent to approximately XPF 951,532 to XPF 1,175,533, or US$8,837 to US$10,917.
SPC salaries are currently not subject to income tax in New Caledonia.
For internationally advertised positions based in Noumea, SPC provides housing support and reimbursement for excess accompanied luggage of up to two additional bags. Eligible employees also receive airfare, medical and life insurance benefits.
Staff are entitled to 25 working days of annual leave each year and access to SPC’s Provident Fund, to which employees contribute 8 percent of salary and SPC contributes 10 percent.
SPC’s working languages are English and French.
SPC said its recruitment process is based on merit, fairness and transparency and is committed to cultural and gender diversity.
The organisation also aims to maintain strong representation of Pacific Island professionals. Where two interviewed candidates are ranked equally by the selection panel, preference will be given to the Pacific Islander candidate.
Applications for the position close on 23 August 2026…..PACNEWS
FIJI – CATTLE FARMING: FIJI SUN PACNEWS BIZ: Tue 18 Aug 2026
Fiji cattle TB prevalence below 1 per cent
SUVA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (FIJI SUN)—Tuberculosis (TB) cases among cattle nationwide are below one per cent, reflecting what the Ministry of Agriculture says is an effective disease-control programme.
Minister for Agriculture Tomasi Tunabuna said countries with cattle TB prevalence below one per cent were able to maintain productive cattle stocks for consumption and sale.
He said Fiji was on track to manage livestock health, with the fight against TB continuing annually.
“The incident level is less than one per cent which is encouraging to note,” Mr Tunabuna said.
Containment remains the focus
Tunabuna said the long-term management of TB in cattle remained achievable, but strict controls were needed to prevent its spread.
“TB has been here in Fiji for long, we have to manage with TB with strict cattle movement,” he said.
The controls include TB testing and the removal, or culling, of infected cattle to prevent the disease spreading to healthy cattle.
Tunabuna said zero prevalence was unlikely because cases would continue to arise each year.
However, he said containing the disease was possible and improving the ministry’s capacity to do so remained a priority.
Cattle and beef have a lucrative market in Fiji’s meat industry.
Minister condemns illegal slaughter
Tunabuna also condemned the illegal slaughtering of cattle in closely populated residential areas.
He said people of different ethnicities lived in these areas and could be offended by slaughtering activities, and suggested butchers consider locations away from populated areas.
Tunabuna encouraged beef and livestock farmers to increase their stock as the busy half of the year gets under way.
“Farmers are urged to learn the basics of signs and symptoms of TB in cattle to help with early detection,” he said….PACNEWS
PNG – BANK: THE NATIONAL PACNEWS BIZ: Tue 18 Aug 2026
BSP to build new Headquarters
PORT MORESBY, 28 AUGUST 2026 (THE NATIONAL)—The Bank South Pacific Financial Group Limited (BSP) will build a new headquarters in Port Moresby to support its growth and create a landmark commercial development in Port Moresby, says chief executive officer Mark Robinson.
“Our plans for a new headquarters reflect BSP’s growth, long-term ambitions and commitment to Papua New Guinea,” he said.
“Our plan is about building for the future.
“It will provide a modern, efficient and resilient workplace that supports our people, our customers and our long-term growth ambitions.
“The new headquarters will be built to high environmental standards and designed to support a digital-first experience for both employees and customers, with flexible and modern collaboration spaces.
“Importantly, it will bring our people together in a single location, improve operational efficiency and help us continue to attract, develop and retain exceptional talent.”
When completed in the early 2030s, the campus-style headquarters will bring together BSP’s 2,500 Port Moresby-based employees who currently work in seven office locations.
The new headquarters will include facilities for major conferences, staff training and community events, including BSP’s financial literacy and small business development programmes.
The campus will also feature a range of employee amenities, including secure car parking, a cafeteria, and staff wellness facilities such as a medical centre, a gym, changing rooms, showers and lockers.
BSP will rationalise some of its existing properties in Port Moresby, starting with the sale and lease-back of its Waigani head office.
BSP’s new campus plans are at an early stage with concept design and feasibility to start by the end of this year, including the identification of suitable land options and initial discussions with relevant regulators to confirm the planning and approvals pathway…..PACNEWS
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Creating pathways for Pacific climate solutions
SUVA, 18 AUGUST 2026 (SPC)—Despite the capacity and resource constraints Pacific Small Island Developing States face in accessing global climate finance, communities across the region are already developing practical, locally led climate solutions. From restoring coastal ecosystems through nature-based solutions to adapting farming practices and combining Indigenous knowledge with scientific expertise, locally led adaptation is taking shape in villages, on farms and along coastlines.
The challenge is not simply generating new ideas. It is creating the conditions that allow promising local solutions to grow.
With climate finance still largely directed towards large-scale, proven interventions, many community-led adaptation initiatives struggle to access the early-stage funding, technical support and partnerships needed to test, strengthen and demonstrate their potential. Without this support, promising ideas often stall at the pilot stage or fail to attract larger sources of climate finance. This can be especially challenging for women-led initiatives, youth innovators and community organisations, whose locally developed solutions are often overlooked despite their strong potential to strengthen climate resilience.
Creating Pathways for Climate Adaptation
Recognising this challenge, the Pacific Community (SPC) established the Climate Innovation Programme Co:Lab. Backed by a US$5 million investment through the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA), Co:Lab is designed to help address the gap between promising locally led adaptation initiatives and larger climate finance opportunities.
More than a grant programme, Co:Lab is a regional climate adaptation innovation accelerator that combines catalytic funding with technical expertise, mentoring and strategic partnerships, helping locally led initiatives progress towards investment and wider impact.
From FiT Learning to Co:Lab Design
Co:Lab builds on six years of learning through SPC’s Funding with Intent (FiT) programme. Established as an internal innovation platform, FiT used small, flexible grants to encourage experimentation, test new approaches and strengthen organisational learning.
Between 2020 and 2026, FiT supported 48 incubation projects and 10 amplification projects across areas including climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture, fisheries, digital innovation and geospatial technologies. Collectively, these projects helped SPC understand not only what worked, but why—and what promising initiatives needed to move beyond the pilot stage.
The FiT Sensemaking Exercise found consistently strong results during incubation, confirming that relatively modest investments, when combined with the right support, can unlock significant innovation. It also identified a persistent gap: many promising initiatives struggled to secure the technical assistance, partnerships and follow-on investment needed to progress beyond successful pilots and achieve wider impact.
Innovation in Practice: atoll farming in Palau
The swamp taro restoration project in Palau illustrates how early-stage support can help communities investigate a locally identified challenge and test a practical response.
While working with communities in Kayangel Atoll through SPC’s Managing Coastal Aquifers Project (MCAP), SPC technical teams heard repeated concerns about the declining health of giant swamp taro (Cyrtosperma merkusii). More than a staple food crop, giant swamp taro is deeply woven into Palauan culture and plays an important role in food security and livelihoods. These community concerns became the starting point for a FiT-supported pilot project to better understand the problem and identify practical responses.
The project brought together women growers, groundwater specialists, soil scientists and agriculture experts. Scientific investigations into groundwater conditions, soil characteristics and water quality were considered alongside generations of Indigenous knowledge about traditional cultivation practices and environmental change.
Together, they revealed a more complex picture than first anticipated. Rather than a single cause, the decline was associated with high sodium levels, low potassium, compacted soils and prolonged waterlogging, while saltwater intrusion linked to climate change placed further pressure on the traditional taro pits.
The response reflected the same collaborative approach. Working with women growers, the project refined traditional basket-planting techniques by combining scientific evidence with local knowledge. Women advised against using pandanus because it is an important source of household income and recommended coconut leaves instead.
Filled with organic material and raised above the waterline, the baskets created healthier growing conditions for young taro plants while remaining practical, locally appropriate and grounded in traditional practice.
After six months, the results were clear. Raised basket planting achieved survival rates of approximately 75 percent in one taro pit and more than 80 percent in the other—at sites where previous planting had recorded no survival. The approach outperformed both conventional planting and raised coconut-husk beds, demonstrating how a practical solution using locally available materials could improve drainage, lift taro roots above saline groundwater and support plant survival under increasingly difficult conditions.
The project showed what relatively modest, strategic investment can make possible. By bringing women growers and technical specialists together, it transformed scientific evidence and local knowledge into a practical adaptation response with measurable results.
From Pilot to Impact
The wider FiT findings show what early-stage support could achieve and what promising initiatives still needed beyond a successful pilot. Those lessons informed Co:Lab’s three-stage pathway, which provides different forms of support as innovations develop.
1.Incubation provides grants from USD$25,000 up to USD$ 75,000 alongside hands-on co-design support to help communities, organisations and innovators pilot and de-risk early-stage climate adaptation innovations.
2.Acceleration provides technical assistance and funding of up to USD$200,000 to help scale high-potential solutions and strengthen their readiness for investment.
3.Amplification extends the reach of successful innovations through knowledge sharing, peer learning, policy uptake and investment matchmaking, enabling replication and helping attract additional finance.
Through Co:Lab, SPC is helping build stronger pathways so more locally led ideas can move beyond proof of concept, inform policy, attract climate finance and deliver wider impact.
The challenge is not finding innovation in the Pacific. It is creating the pathways that allow it to grow….PACNEWS
