24 Jul 2004

Maori tribe talks business in Fiji

8:43 am on 24 July 2004

The fourteenth joint Fiji-New Zealand business council conference has opened in Nadi.

The Fiji prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, will open the conference, and the visiting New Zealand trade minister Jim Sutton will address delegates.

The president of the Fiji-New Zealand business council, Bevin Severinsen, says a representative from a successful Maori tribe will be the third speaker of note at the conference.

"We have invited the chairman from Ngai Tahu, Mark Solomon, up here, basically to give some sort of inspirational, some sort of best practice ideas on how indigenous groups can also be part, not only part of a growing economy, but also contribute to the growth in the economy: To contribute positively, to contribute to the benefit of their people."