EnterprisingSwiss–EnterprisingFijians.docVIP

Enterprising Swiss – Enterprising Fijians Sylvie Matteucci, Ambassador of Switzerland (Suva, 18 June 2003) Ladies and Gentlemen I’ve always liked surprises. I’ll always like surprises. You can imagine how delighted I was when Daniel Zender called me to announce his intention to establish a Swiss-Fijian Business Association in Suva. “Great!“ – I exclaimed. ?Thanks“ he continued, and asked me to be godmother to the newborn child. In a modern world of dinkies – dual income, no kids – partnerships, one does not get many chances to be a godmother. I accepted eagerly. So here I am, in my first public and official act after a longish period of absence from my Wellington-based office due to health reasons, welcoming the Association into the world of international business. Many happy returns, many opportunities, and many successes! May the pioneering spirit that has presided over its creation always stay with this institution! May it change, evolve, and prosper together with all its members, because of all its members. * It is a great moment to be enterprising, to be prospecting for business opportunities in Fiji and worldwide. The world has become more dynamic in the last twenty years, and creative destruction has dissolved many old structures and allowed new ones to flourish. Who would have thought, thirty years ago, that the Pacific Rim would become so dynamic? Who would have expected China to grow at 8% per year, as it has done in the last few years? Who would have thought that after the events of 2000, Fiji’s economy would prove so resilient and quickly make good the losses of that year? After two years of GDP growth at over 4%, the Asian Development Bank forecasts acceleration to 5.7% this year. Fiji will surf the tourism wave. Gold mining will remain buoyant. Construction for needed infrastructure is projected to increase by 9.5%. This is much better than the average growth rate for the period 1985 to 2002 which was ony 1.5% pe