Account Executive Salesforce, Mr Tim Matthews,
CEO Datec Fiji, Mr Saten Singh,
Distinguished Panellists,
Industry Captains,
Our friends from the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Bula vinaka and a very good evening to you all. I’m delighted to join you all for the first ever event hosted by Salesforce and its local Fijian partner Datec Fiji.
I recall meeting many of you earlier this year during the “AIIA Pacific Islands Digital Capability Uplift Program” event.
There on, as captains of your own domain, and stalwarts of the I.T industry – I hope you have continued to exchange knowledge and experience on the evolving digital technologies available.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Digital and technical capabilities are essential drivers of economic growth and social development. They provide opportunities for businesses to expand their reach, access new markets, and increase productivity, and for that reason as digital leaders you play a vital role in providing sound technical advice about digital technologies available in the market to those who rely on your expertise.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
In recent days, I have witnessed the great strides of progress made by leaders in this innovative space of digital technology.
Just yesterday I had the opportunity to join Vodafone Fiji in launching “M-PAiSA Mastercard” – a digital wallet which will promote equality, mobilising funds in the informal sector.
We even witnessed the team at Digicel Pacific launch “5G Testing” last week, putting Fiji on the map in global telecom technology standards – I am told, the benefits of 5G really are far reaching at a time when everyone wants smoother video calls, faster downloads and seamless browsing.
And tomorrow we will break ground for Telecom Fiji’s, first phase of fiber optic extension project between Savusavu and Labasa – reinforcing high speed, resilient and scalable connectivity for the people of Vanua Levu.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Minister responsible for Communications, the launch of Salesforce, in Fiji is a strong vote of confidence in our growing ICT sector. This further cements our position as the technology and telecommunications hub of the Pacific. Major international companies such as Mastercard through Vodafone Fiji and Telstra’s acquisition of Digicel Pacific – are great examples of this.
On behalf of the Fiji Government, I would also like to use this opportunity to say that Fiji is open for business and we are actively looking at ways to reduce bottlenecks, burdensome red-tapes and increase the ease of doing business, and we will soon launch the “businessNOW Fiji” portal.
Coming back to today’s event, this evening is about continuing collaboration, building capacity around new and emerging technologies and discussing the latest ICT trends.
Throughout my working career, I have personally considered knowledge as power, and believe me, if you can share knowledge with your colleagues and peers, you’re unlocking power to achieve so much more.
I wish you all a rewarding evening and thank Salesforce and Datec Fiji for organising this event, please enjoy the evening responsibly and let’s continue to grow our pool of digital leaders.

Vinaka Vakalevu and Thank you.