Hon. Ditoka Meets The Delegation From The Guangdong Province, China
16/09/2026Published On: 16/09/2026
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade convened a Technical Workshop on Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures on 16 September 2026, as part of Fiji’s broader technical assessment of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus and its consideration of potential accession to the Agreement.
The Workshop follows an earlier session held on 14 and 15 September 2026 on Trade in Goods and Customs Procedures, and forms part of Fiji’s ongoing chapter-by-chapter technical assessment of the Agreement, undertaken in partnership with Australia and New Zealand.
The Workshop focused on PACER Plus Rules of Origin and Verification Procedures, including declaration requirements and product-specific rules, and was designed to give Fiji’s stakeholders a practical understanding of these provisions and their implications for Fiji’s exporters, importers and government agencies.
Delivering the welcome remarks, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka, noted that Fiji has committed to restarting its consideration of accession to PACER Plus, with a Senior Officials’ Meeting targeted for November this year to identify a clear pathway forward, and that the current series of technical sessions is intended to examine both the opportunities and the obligations the Agreement would entail for Fiji.
High Commissioner of New Zealand, H.E. Greg Andrews reiterated that the decision on whether to accede to PACER Plus remains entirely Fiji’s own, with Australia and New Zealand’s role being to provide information and technical support, and noted that Rules of Origin play an important part in helping businesses build more resilient supply chains amid growing global economic turbulence.
High Commissioner of Australia, H.E. Peter Roberts highlighted the flexibility built into PACER Plus, noting that Fiji’s participation in the Agreement can be calibrated to Fiji’s national priorities while still creating opportunities for businesses to benefit from greater regional integration, and pointed to practical outcomes achieved elsewhere under the Agreement, including significant reductions in customs clearance times for participating countries.
Participating stakeholders included representatives of Fiji Government ministries and agencies, the private sector, and exporters and importers, together with technical experts from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Outcomes from the Workshop will feed into the Ministry’s broader technical assessment of PACER Plus, to be consolidated with findings from other chapters to inform the development of Fiji’s policy position for consideration through the established Government processes.
