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The Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, Ewen McDonald, has expressed strong optimism for the future of Australia-Fiji trade and partnership, highlighting the significant progress made in recent months.

McDonald highlighted the ongoing discussions with Trade Minister Manoa Kamikamica on enhancing trade opportunities between the two nations.

“So trade is a big focus of our work and particularly I’ve had many discussions with Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica in particular on trade here and he’s driving as you would expect, that partnership along. We’re very supportive of it and we’re looking together at how we can continue to enhance that trade opportunity.”

McDonald’s also assured ongoing efforts to ease trade procedures and prioritize Fiji’s development needs.

“From our point of view, it’s proceeding in the right direction and we want to continue to enhance it as we go forward and we will do what we can to make things easier and to prioritize our support against Fiji’s priorities.”

Australia is one of Fiji’s largest trading partners, with two-way trade totalling more than $1.5 billion in 2021.

Major Fijian exports to Australia include gold and textile clothing.