On April 28, PIC held a meeting with the Embassy of the Republic of Fiji in Japan by using ZOOM for the first time. The government of Japan as well as the Tokyo Metropolitan Municipality declared a state of emergency to counter the COVID-19 pandemic on April 7 for one month, which was then extended until May 31. Inhabitants of Tokyo are strongly requested to stay at home, so networking activities are mostly restricted to indirect contact such as through the internet.

The Ambassador, the First and Second Secretaries from the Embassy, and PIC’s Director participated in the meeting to discuss a follow-up in business possibilities after the Japan Trade and Investment Mission to Fiji on February 26 and 27, as well as new projects such as fisheries, environment, and infrastructure on which Fijian Government and business groups are focusing for the Japanese private sector. They also talked about how Japan and Forum Island Countries (FICs) will tackle the tremendous economic damage in FICs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in preparation for the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) 9, scheduled to be opened in Mie Prefecture next May.

Under the current circumstances surrounding FICs and Japan, PIC considers increasing such opportunities as web meetings and seminars to further develop business opportunities between our countries.