UNRC Remarks at Top Executive Conference (TopEx) 

Bula Vinaka, Namaste, Salaam Alaikum, Good Morning,   

On behalf of the UN in Fiji, I am excited to be here at TopEx amongst Fiji’s business leaders and change makers to deliver key note remarks.   

Platforms like TopEx are crucial for building partnerships, generating new knowledge, driving accountability, and ensuring business practices are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals for planet, people, prosperity and peace. 

As we meet here in Fiji, there is much excitement around the region with the 17th Pacific Games taking place in the Solomon Islands. So far, Fiji has secured 1 gold medal, and 11 medals overall - but with rugby sevens, volleyball, and boxing still to come. Toso Viti Toso!  

The theme of the 17th Pacific Games is Challenge, Celebrate, Unite, and that’s also what I want to speak with you about this morning: 

• Challenging ourselves to work smarter and harder on the sustainable development issues facing Fiji 

• Celebrating and building on Fiji’s economic talents and strengths; and  

• Uniting through better partnerships and collaboration for the benefit of all Fijians.  

Firstly, to the challenges at hand:  

We are now at the mid-point of the 2030 Agenda, agreed by global leaders in 2015, and we find ourselves living in extremely challenging times. Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating global conflicts, the climate change emergency, widening social and economic inequalities, a global pushback against human and civil rights, and a lack of progress on gender equality, means that our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals - or SDGs - hangs in the balance.  

The SDGs, essentially, are 17 mission statements backed by 169 concrete targets – and if we achieve them, we will live in a world that is more peaceful, prosperous, and just – a sustainable world that we all strive for - for us and for our children. 

But right now, we’re at half time and we are not winning. We are off track on the SDGs globally, and in the Pacific. On the current trajectory, the Paciifc is poised to achieve only 20% of the SDG targets.  

While Fiji has made progress on most SDGs1, two key SDGs are regressing: SDG 8 - which aims to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. And SDG 9, which encompasses three important aspects of sustainable development: infrastructure, industrialization, and innovation. 

The UN estimates that globally, we need $5 to 7 trillion per year between now and 2030 to get back on track and achieve the SDGs globally.   

For infrastructure related SDGs (roads, energy, water, sanitation) and climate change mitigation alone, the World Bank estimates that countries will require up to 8% of their annual GDP. For Fiji, this translates to around $400 million USD annually. 

While governments have a critical role to play, they cannot face these challenges alone. To succeed, we need a whole-of-society approach – and this is where your significant role as the private sector comes in.   

Ladies and gentlemen, the SDGs will fail without the private sector.  

Beyond philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, which are excellent initiatives on their own, I urge you to align your business practices and financial investments with the SDGs. This core alignment is a potent accelerator for the SDGs.  

From ensuring decent work conditions, to increasing women’s participation in the formal workforce, to introducing innovation and technological advancements into the economy, you are the engine room of Fiji’s prosperity. 

And yet there are significant challenges holding back Fiji’s prosperity and progress on the SDGs.  

Firstly, an issue I know you experience all too well – the escalating impacts of the climate change emergency. Annually, average losses owing to tropical cyclones and floods in Fiji is estimated at more than $500 million, equivalent to more than 5 per cent of Fiji’s GDP. Shockingly, these impacts are only set to grow as the world fails to take the necessary action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.  

Collectively, we must take up this challenge. The Pacific private sector needs to be active in advocating to the world’s major emitters. COP 28 taking place in Dubai next week is critical to secure commitments to rapidly cut emissions.  

Government, private sector, and development partners must also work together to climate-proof infrastructure, to push a renewable energy transition, and ensure the Pacific receives the climate finance necessary to adapt and build resilience. For Fiji, climate finance needs are estimated at $4.5 billion. 

Another major challenge I know you experience daily is skill shortages and access to labour. Increasing emigration opportunities for Pacific Islanders is delivering important economic benefits through remittances. At the same time, it’s leading to severe labour shortages in areas such as health and construction. Indeed, a survey conducted by ANZ earlier this year of Fiji’s business executives found that shortage of labour, especially skilled labour, remains the main risk to Fiji’s growth prospects.  

Again, this is a challenge that requires partnership across government and the private sector to build Fiji’s skills and employment opportunities for the longer-term. Across the Pacific, the UN is bringing diverse stakeholders together with governments to work on labor policies that promote vocational training, apprenticeships, and economic diversification.  

While acknowledging the significant challenges at play, we must also recognise Fiji’s economic strengths and opportunities. And this brings me to the second theme, celebrate. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke, Fiji’s tourism industry – responsible for almost 40 per cent of GDP - collapsed overnight with devastating socio-economic impacts. But in a few short years since travel restrictions were lifted, Fiji’s tourism has witnessed a phenomenal rebound.  

The tourism sector, if well-managed, is strategically placed to be the primary conduit and accelerator for the SDGs in Fiji. 

From ecotourism, sports tourism, medical and wellness tourism, there remain significant opportunities to grow and diversify Fiji’s already impressive tourism offering. In this regard, I congratulate the Government on the development of Fiji’s National Sustainable Development Framework - which sets out a path towards a greener and more inclusive tourism sector. 

While sustainable tourism is key to Fiji’s economic future, we know that a major lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of economic diversification.  

And for Fiji, I think the future is blue. The blue economy is, and can further be, a significant driver of sustainable economic growth for Fiji from fisheries to aquaculture, marine biotechnology, and ocean energy.  

Related to this, Fiji and indeed all countries, must decouple economic growth from detrimental environmental impacts. This has direct consequences for SDG 12 - which aims to ensure sustainable production and consumption. From protecting Fiji’s coral reefs, curbing plastics pollution, and counterbalancing energy and material consumption from natural resources, the circular economy approach offers significant benefits to Fiji.  

I encourage Fiji’s transition to a circular economy model, not only because of the environmental benefits but also the economic pay offs due to resource savings. Globally, the economy would benefit $2 trillion a year from a circular economy model and more effective resource management.  

And this leads me to my third theme, unity.  

Catalytic developments require inclusivity, innovation, and partnerships – in other words, unity.  

I’m pleased to note existing partnerships between the UN and the private sector to accelerate sustainable development and the blue economy.  

I congratulate the Government of Fiji and the private sector for the launch of Fiji's historic, first-ever Blue Bond worth $20 million - oversubscribed by three times the issuance amount.   

Supported by UNDP, the Blue Bond2 exemplifies the catalytic impact of partnerships to unlock and leverage larger private finance for sustainable development. The success of the Blue Bond launch speaks to the business confidence in Fiji, and the confidence in you. 

The UN is also implementing a programme in Fiji on Investing in Coral Reefs and the Blue Economy. This programme leverages the advantages of multiple UN agencies and uses blended finance to catalyze investments in blue economy businesses, including locally managed marine protected areas, conservation and eco-tourism companies, and an innovative organic fertilizer factory.  

Over the four-year lifetime of this programme, it is expected to leverage up to US $50 million in additional investments for the blue economy in Fiji.  

Another example of partnership in action is a joint UN - Fiji Government initiative to increase access to climate and disaster risk financing and insurance. The initiative is bringing together public and private stakeholders, particularly in the digital space, to provide microinsurance to 14,000 individuals and 2,000 low-income households. Nearly half of the beneficiaries are women. 

The UN is committed to expanding our collaboration with the private sector and I welcome your ideas and insights on how to best pursue this partnership. The UN Global Compact is an initiative to get businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies and reporting on their implementation. Currently, there is no Global Compact chapter in the Pacific. The UN would be interested to work with Fiji’s business community to explore its establishment.  

Ladies and gentlemen, in building economic prosperity, we must also ensure we stay committed to shared prosperity and abandon economic patterns that fail people and the planet.  

Unity involves inclusion and diversity at the decision-making table.  

The UN is committed to leaving no one behind. Currently, women are disproportionately absent from Fiji’s formal economy.  A recent report indicates that female workers constitute 34% of the paid labour force but 43% of the unemployed in Fiji. No economic growth can be sustainable without women’s equal economic participation. 

To remedy this, I welcome the recently announced comprehensive national action plan - which promises to be a significant step towards advancing women’s economic empowerment.  

In addition to this policy, I urge you, the private sector, to keep women and girls at the center of your corporate decision making and leadership arrangements.  

In conclusion, in the words of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “We count on businesses to play an important role by themselves and to put pressure on governments. Every action, big or small counts, but those with greater capabilities and resources should lead the way”. 

You can and must play a key role in steering governments to implement regulations that foster ambitious and sustainable business practices- driving ambitious sustainable business practices. 

I welcome the new ideas and partnerships generated here at TopEx —particularly initiatives to accelerate sustainable and green tourism, scale up the blue economy, circular economy initiatives that decrease waste and enhance energy efficiency, and ideas to develop labor capabilities for the future and increase women’s economic participation. 

We are at the half-way point of the Sustainable Development Goals. It’s time to step up and win this race.   

In the words of the 17th Pacific Games: Challenge. Celebrate. Unite.   

Vinaka vaka levu, Dhanyavaad, Shukran, and Thank You.