As laid out in the 5-Year and 20-Year National Development Plan (2017-2036)1 , Fiji is at a point of strength with a rapidly expanding economy, improving infrastructure and institutions, a youthful population2 , growing digital connectivity, a stronger standing in the international arena, and continuing inherent geographical and environmental advantages.
Fiji’s key economic drivers are tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, financial services, fisheries, and mining3 . These sectors have been contributing strongly towards 10 consistent years of economic growth from 2010 to 2019. The Fijian Government has been supporting these major economic sectors through targeted incentives that are geared towards enhancing investment - both private and foreign4 - in line with Fiji’s SDG implementation strategy.
Over the past 15 years, Fiji has carried out a consistent strategy of investing in the resilient development of the transport, education, housing, agriculture and water sectors. These strategic investments have been matched by investments in its people in the form of innovative social protection schemes for the poorest and most vulnerable, and economic, legal and educational reforms to create greater opportunities and a more level playing field. Fiji intends to continue investing in a resilient future for its people, and it intends to do so via financial innovation5 .
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the worst economic recession in Fiji’s history since independence. However, the Fijian Government has continued to prudently invest in national development initiatives and rapid health care measures accompanied with the careful positioning of fiscal and monetary policy to help the country recover from the economic and social repercussions of the pandemic.
While domestic commitments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGs’) by 2030 remain strong, Fiji will need to recover the development gains lost due to COVID-19, in synergy with allocating resources to accelerate national development relative to pre-COVID-19 ambitions. Such levels of resource mobilisation will require a combination of strategic fiscal spending, innovative capital market operations, and unprecedented levels of private sector investments.
In this regard, the Fijian Government has developed this Fijian Sustainable Bond Framework (‘Framework’) to enable the issuance of thematic bonds related to Fiji’s sustainable development ambitions. This Framework builds on the experience and Green Bond Framework of the Fiji Sovereign Green Bond issuance in 2017, with the intention of issuing other thematic bonds, starting with a Blue Bond in 2022.