The Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism   Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, is leading the Fijian delegation to the 10th World Trade Ministerial Conference. Earlier he chaired the Ministerial meeting of the grouping of Small Vulnerable Economies (SVEs) yesterday.

The SVEs Ministerial Meeting adopted a Ministerial Declaration outlining the SVEs concerns, and priorities for the Conference.

The 10th WTO Ministerial Conference was opened in Nairobi, Kenya, by His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya on Wednesday afternoon.

The President in his opening emphasised to the WTO member countries that the hope of millions of people in increased prosperity on the basis of trade and exchange, is in your hands.  The Kenyan President further reminded the membership that the consequences of lack of adequate economic opportunities are the leading driver of the social and political instability.

 Following the opening ceremony, Hon. Minister Koya also addressed a trade and development symposium in a session focusing on the Pacific to highlight the challenges and opportunities in supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

 The Minister in his statement highlighted that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were vital for employment creation, income generation and poverty alleviation. And that Innovation is driven through MSMEs, with new ideas, new products, new methods of delivering services and accessing markets coming out of MSMEs.

 The Minister informed the symposium that the Fijian Government has introduced various initiatives to support the micro, small and medium enterprises. He further stated that in 2014, the Government announced the Micro and Small Business Grant scheme to come into place in 2015.