Presentation/s:

The Pacific is in a period of flux with new governments and uncertain economic times. A stellar cast of leading Pacific thinkers and policy makers debated and discussed the latest economic and political developments in the region including two ministers of finance, two central bank governors, two heads of major civil society organisations, a leading economic adviser, and a top economist from the region.

What challenges face the new governments of Timor and PNG? How robust is the Solomon Islands’ recent high growth? How can Fiji escape economic stagnation? Is Vanuatu on the way back to the high growth it experienced prior to the global financial crisis? What can Tonga do in the face of declining remittances and tourism? How much of a risk is Samoa’s large fiscal deficit?

The panelists addressed regional issues, such as prospects for the PACER Plus trade agreement, and the role of aid and migration.

The 2012 Pacific Update consisted of three panel discussions; on PNG and Timor-Leste; Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa; and on Solomon Islands and Fiji.

Speakers:

Bart Philemon, Former Minister for the Public Service, Papua New Guinea

Nikunj Soni, Chair of the Board and Executive Director, Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP)

Odo Tevi, Governor of the Reserve Bank, Vanuatu

Siosi (Joyce) C. Mafi, Governor of the National Reserve Bank, Tonga

Biman Prasad, University of the South Pacific, Fiji

Rick Houenipwela, Minister of Finance and Treasury, Solomon Islands

Serena Sasingian, Executive Director, ‘The Voice’, PNG

Kolone Vaai, Co-Managing Director, KVA Consult Ltd, Samoa

Related blogs:
» Tonga: averting a bleak economic future by Siosi.C. Mafi
» Vanuatu resurgent by Odo Tevi
» Social challenges in PNG by Serena Sasingian
» Managing the political economy of development in Solomon Islands by Rick Hou
» Pursuing development in the Pacific: acting on what we know by Biman Chand Prasad
» Solomon Islands economic update by Rick Hou
» Fiji’s economy: a view over 25 years by Biman Chand Prasad