17 Feb 2012

National Reserve Bank of Tonga to host conference on economic downtown

10:12 am on 17 February 2012

An Economic Dialogue aimed at growing the Tongan economy in a collective way will be hosted next month by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga.

The Matangi Tonga online reports the meeting is planned for March 7 and 8.

The bank's governor, Siosi Mafi, says the dialogue will bring together all sectors of society to discuss the three traditional sectors of the economy - agriculture, fisheries and tourism.

The Chair of the bank's board, Steve Edwards, says the economy is experiencing a downturn, given the decline of annual remittances by 48 million US dollars since 2008, caused by the global financial crisis

He says agricultural and fisheries exports have also declined by up to 60 and 70 percent.