Governments must create opportunities for all citizens to participate in the marketplace on a level playing field.

This was the message from Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum during a high level panel discussion at the annual Asian Development Bank (ADB) Meetings in Yokohama, Japan.

The session was live streamed and moderated by renowned British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) journalist, Zeinab Badawi.

Speaking during this, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum also highlighted implementing the right policies at a national level to create opportunities. Giving examples of local policies such as free education, he spoke about the need for such initiatives.

Other members of the panel included the ADB President Takehiko Nakao, the Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso, the Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the State Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Tone Skogen and the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance for India Shaktikanta Das, who was filling in for the Indian Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley.

The theme of the panel discussion was “Lessons from 50 years of Asian Development and its implications for the future”.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum further reiterated that Fiji’s Presidency for COP23 is timely and important for other countries to commit to the Paris Agreement on climate. In addition, he highlighted various policies that are crucial to address development challenges and to better position Pacific Island Countries to compete in the global market.

He stated that investment in human capital by way of access to education through programmes such as free education, tertiary scholarships and loans were important to empower the young.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum also stated that empowering the younger population through public consultations such as in the budgetary process was critical to raise awareness, knowledge and to tap into the potential of the younger generation.

He further deliberated on the key development challenges faced by small island economies in light of geographical isolation, remoteness from major markets and adverse climatic events.

It is imperative for climate finance to equate to development finance, he said.

While wrapping up, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum stressed the importance of building resilient infrastructure.

He discussed remodelling the economy to have diversification. He stated that adherence to international standards and best practices are important to attract investments and create economic opportunities, translating also into employment opportunities.

And, he said that Governments must create opportunities for all citizens to participate in the market place on a level playing field.

The seminar was attended by more than 500 ADB delegates, which included the ADB Governors, board members, donors and representatives of other multilateral institutions and live streamed through the ADB platform.

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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