Press Release, Forum Secretariat, Suva.

Investment policy and business opportunities in the region will be the topic for discussion when heads of Investment Promotion Agencies from the Forum Islands countries (FICs) will meet on September 20-21 in Nadi, Fiji.

The meeting will map out strategies to ensure the sustainability of domestic and foreign investments. A special feature of the meeting will be a private sector presentation on the experiences of investing in the island region.

Other topics include how investment policy work in the region; the impact of public sector reforms on investment; competitiveness in doing business; the importance of transparency in the investment process; using the Internet to promote investments; and, the significance of new trading blocs and intellectual property rights. The FIC participants will also report on progress since their 2003 meeting.

The eighth annual meeting will include representatives from key regional and international institutions whose services relate to investment policy and promotional work. New Caledonia and French Polynesia, who are Observers at the Pacific Islands Forum, will also be represented.

Resource inputs for the meeting will be drawn from the FICs; the Foreign Investment Advisory Service of the World Bank; Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; the Asian Development Bank; Transparency International (Fiji Chapter); Mauritius Industrial Development Authority; the Forum Trade Offices; and, the Forum Secretariat.