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A delegation of Kiwi Pacific Island businesspeople has returned from a tour of the islands feeling upbeat about the prospect of investing in and doing business with their countries of origin.
The thrust in New Zealand has been mainly on exports, says Chris Cocker, trade commissioner of the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission in Auckland, and comparatively little has been done to get Pacific Island businesses greater access to the New Zealand market.
The Return to Roots Mission put together by the commission and Air New Zealand flew 14 businesspeople of Samoan and Tongan origin living in New Zealand to the two island nations, bringing them face-to-face with government officials and local entrepreneurs to explore investment and business opportunities.
Ulu Aiono, managing director of Cogita, one of New Zealand's oldest and most successful enterprise applications companies, said the mission was an outstanding success for him. Of Samoan origin, he had never visited his country of birth as a businessman. Now he has up to six ventures planned.
The islands have always found it tough to attract overseas investment in business projects - other than those related to tourism - for a variety of reasons.
Traditional and cultural approaches to land issues and the enforcement of contracts related to them have always been the biggest concerns for investors.
* Dev Nadkarni, based in Auckland, is editor of news website islandsbusiness.com
