Suva is one of the four cities (in Asia and the Pacific) chosen to pilot a project that would look at economic recovery in towns and cities.

The other cities are Pune in India, Subang Jaya in Malaysia and Hoi An in Vietnam.

Suva and Lami special administrator chair, Isikeli Tikoduadua said the programme was under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, where cities had to bid for the project.

The cities were chosen after three screenings which included submissions and online interviews.

“This will help us get the expertise to come up with the Suva Economic Recovery Plan. We won this bid through our commitment towards economic recovery and ensuring that we are able to generate it,” Mr Tikoduadua said.

Yesterday, the council, Government stakeholders and civil society organisations met at the Tanoa Plaza to begin the pilot project.

The first meet would enable all participants to access valuable data which would lead to the economic recovery plan.

Acting Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Local Government Shaheen Ali in his keynote address said while every country across the globe had been affected, the extent of impacts varied.

“Implementation plans for economic recovery must take into account the size of our economies, and the different levels of development in the region,” Mr Ali said.

“It must also consider geographical isolation and distance from key markets, healthcare facilities and resources, and most importantly, dependence on one or limited sectors.”

He said the Fijian economy registered the sharpest economic decline of 19 per cent in 2020, which was equivalent to a loss in GDP of more than $2 billion.

“The prolonged border closure, coupled with the devastating impact of Tropical Cyclones Yasa, Ana and Bina, has further delayed the rebound of GDP to pre-COVID levels for at least the next three years,” he said.

“Visitor arrivals in 2020, plummeted by 87 per cent to 147,000 visitors to pre-1990 levels. In the early months of the pandemic, unemployment temporarily spiked to 100,000.”

He said the initiative was a step in the right direction.

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