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Japanese investors explore opportunities in Fiji

06 November 2011 02:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A group of Japanese investors are currently in Fiji exploring investment and trade opportunities with the island nation before they move on to other countries in the region, APA reports.

The 17-member delegation from Okinawa is in the country to pursue interests in the field of water resources, renewable energy and fisheries.

JICA representative Ito Masahiro told media on Saturday the group would explore opportunities before investing into projects in several countries in the Pacific.

He said the group which is being facilitated by JICA had met with Investment Fiji already but had only exchanged views and there had been no detailed output from the discussions so far.

Ito also said the group had met with the Public Works Department and Water Authority of Fiji to discuss water supply to rural areas and other issues where they had interest to invest in.

The group is currently visiting water treatment plants in the Western division of Viti Levu and will leave Fiji on Saturday to travel to Tonga and Samoa as part of its Pacific Island Countries Survey.

The group visited Fiji after a seminar by the Fiji Embassy in Tokyo which provided an overview of the investment climate and various incentives now made available in Fiji for foreign investors.

This as Fiji accelerates efforts to bring in investment to the island nation as it heads for elections in 2014.

Fiji has also been benefiting from the Japanese Government’s financial assistance scheme for development projects designed to meet the diverse needs of developing countries. Known as Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), this scheme supports projects proposed by such bodies as non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and local government authorities. The GGP has acquired an excellent reputation for providing flexible and timely support to development projects at the grass- roots level.