Fiji’s Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad today stressed the complexities of migration and labour mobility, emphasising the need for a balanced and comprehensive approach.
“Migration and labor mobility are important issues that come with both benefits and challenges,” Prasad said in an interview with journalists at the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting(FEMM) in Suva.
“We can’t view this as simply negative or positive. It’s a global issue, especially post-COVID, with labour market restructuring happening worldwide.”
Prasad stressed the importance of understanding why many Pacific Islanders are relocating to countries like Australia and New Zealand.
“We need to look at why so many people want to move abroad, but we also need to evaluate our own training capacities and immigration policies,” he explained.
“In the future, we need a comprehensive model to improve conditions in our own countries so that people want to stay in the Pacific.”
He acknowledged the inevitability of some people leaving and called for policies to attract talent to the Pacific.
“There will always be people who leave, so we need policies to attract others to our countries,” he said.
“That’s why I advocate for deeper, more meaningful regional integration.”
Prasad highlighted the potential benefits of regional collaboration.
“If we pool our resources and talents and establish a framework that brings the region closer together, there’s a lot we can achieve,” he said.
