Imagine a weekend getaway to one of Fiji’s premier resorts. Think seafood buffets...swaying palms...sublime sunsets. Add to this blissful picture the thought of 200 business delegates sweating over business case studies and investment briefings and you’ve got yourself a conference made in heaven.

Fiji’s Shangri-La Resort was the paradise-like location for the 2005 Fiji Australia Business Forum, and while sun-kissed beaches beckoned, delegates opted for the resort’s more formal facilities during panel discussions, presentations, meetings and networking events. As a sign of the positive link between the two countries, each participant received a traditional `bula’ shirt, designed to cleverly blend an Australian icon with one of Fiji’s best promotional images.

CQU Fiji International Campus Director Jonathan Purdy (pictured) attended the 3-day event, which this year focused on Fiji’s potential for attracting foreign investment, given its favourable environment for business.

“Fiji is seen as a strength in the Pacific region due to its English-speaking population and telecommunications infrastructure. The business community is keen to develop this profile, and acknowledge that the future of Fiji depends largely on the training and education of its workforce.”.

Following political instability and the resulting economic set-backs, Fiji’s industry and government leaders have lamented the country’s `brain drain’ – a term used to describe the exodus of professionals from Fiji to larger nations such as Australia, New Zealand or Canada.

“The feedback we get from local students is that they want to start reinvesting their education, their ideas and their energy into building Fiji’s business future,” says Purdy.

“There is a growing sense that by working and studying with Australian organisations, there is less need to dislocate oneself from family and friends in order to succeed as a professional.”.

In his keynote address, Fiji’s Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase explained that given the sugar industry’s irrecoverable slump, emerging industries such as IT, eco-tourism and construction could secure Fiji’s economic future.

His view was that the `up-skilling’ of labour could generate better paid jobs locally, a view shared by many CQUFIC students, some of whom have already experienced promotions as a result of studying with an Australian university.

As an annual event, the Forum continues to bolster confidence in Australian-Fijian business relationships and, so far, delegates from both countries seem optimistic with the results of this year’s event. They may have worked through happy hour and missed the swaying palms, but at least the business forecast is sunny.