A body set up to foster business growth between the Pacific and Japan is concerned that despite calls for trade ventures, there has been little to no interaction from the Pacific islands.

To promote sustainable economic development across 14 Pacific Island countries and Japan, the Pacific Island Centre (PIC) has been working tirelessly to facilitate trade, investment, and tourism activities since its establishment in 1996. 

Co-founded by the government of Japan and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), PIC has been instrumental in fostering economic growth and collaboration in the region.

Despite 27 years of dedicated efforts to promote the economic growth of Pacific Island countries, the PIC remains largely unknown to the world, especially the Pacific. According to Deputy Director Akiko Takahashi, the Japanase PIC has tried to collaborate with the Pacific but it just doesn't budge. 

"When we try to do business between the Pacific Islands and Japan, it's always stopped. Because there is no reply from the Pacific Island countries," said Takahashi. 

"Japanese companies are very enthusiastic about doing business between Japan and the Pacific Island countries. But they're always giving up because there is no reply," said Takahashi. 

One of PIC's key initiatives has been to enhance public relations efforts in Japan to raise awareness about the Pacific Island countries, which are relatively unfamiliar to the Japanese public. Additionally, the centre has been collaborating with the private sector, facilitating people exchanges, and promoting academic exchanges to further its mission of sustainable economic development in the region.

"For trade and investment, our services here facilitate travel, trade connections, marketing information, trade exhibitions, dispatch trade missions, and very similar to investment. And every year, except COVID years, we are going to dispatch economic missions," said Ms. Takahashi.

Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic, PIC has continued efforts to promote economic cooperation. Notable events include the dispatch of economic missions to countries like Papua New Guinea, engaging in interactive discussions with private and public sectors, and organizing the PALM10 Economic Forum as a side event with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japan.

"Quite a lot of people, business people, are keen to know about the Pacific island countries. For the tourism sector, we are connecting to the travel industry as much as possible.But unfortunately, we don't have direct flights and it is quite expensive," said Ms. Takahashi. 

"Japanese tourists are not keen to travel to Pacific island countries but there are so many rivals." 

Samoan company, WILEX, was invited earlier this year to FOODEX, Japan’s largest annual food and beverage trade show in Asia. Pacific Island countries, including Samoa, Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and others, have focused on economic initiatives such as tourism, trade, and sustainable development. However, their efforts often go unnoticed on the global stage.

When asked which Samoan products are mostly sold in Japan the reply was that the organisation does not have data on the sales figures for Samoan products thriving in Japan.They are currently unable to track this information.

Looking ahead, PIC remains committed to its mission of fostering sustainable economic development in the Pacific by facilitating trade, investment, and tourism activities, continuing its public relations efforts, and strengthening collaborations with the private sector and academia. With a focus on promoting economic growth and collaboration, PIC plays a vital role in contributing to the prosperity of the Pacific Island region.