Australia’s Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment is in Fiji to discuss plans to finalise the PACER Plus trade agreement in the first quarter of this year.
Keith Pitt will be meeting Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz Koya as well as representatives of the Fiji Australia Business Council.
Last year, the government had said Fiji will not endorse the legal text of the Pacer Plus agreement and will only withdraw if Australia and New Zealand do not show flexibility on Fiji and the Pacific Island Countries key concerns.
Fiji wants further negotiation on the two critical issues of Infant Industry Development and Most Favored Nation that will have an implication on Fiji's development aspirations.
The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations or PACER Plus is an umbrella agreement between members of the Pacific Islands Forum including Australia and New Zealand which provides a framework for the future development of trade cooperation.
