Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Trade, Shaheen Ali. [File Photo]

Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Trade, Shaheen Ali, says timely intervention by policymakers, development partners, donor agencies and financial institutions is needed to empower MSMEs.

Ali adds this can be done through continued access to reliable, adequate, and cost-effective sources of trade financing.

He says this will ensure that businesses not only recover from the current economic crisis due to the pandemic but emerge stronger than ever.

Speaking at the Regional Symposium on Trade Financing he recommended that the region must explore avenues to combine their resources.

He believes one such avenue is establishing a Regional Trade Finance Institution, or the Pacific’s very own EXIM Bank.

Ali says to achieve this hard work, cooperation, and goodwill is needed, especially from the region’s respective central banks.

He highlighted that such an institution will overcome the challenges faced by MSMEs in our economies and the disadvantages of being SIDS.

He adds this proposal can be further explored by PIFS and the South Pacific Central Bank Governors Forum.

Ali says the concept can only be successful with the backing of development partners, such as ITC, Commonwealth Secretariat, ADB, and the World Bank.