Mr Srujan Talakokkula – TrendMicro Managing Director, ANZ & Pacific Islands

Mr Mick McCluney – Chief Technology Officer, ANZ & Pacific Islands

Mr Andrew Philips – Chief Information Security Officer, ANZ & Pacific Islands

TrendMicro Team that are here today

Captains of Industry and Leaders from Fiji’s Tech Sector;

Representatives from Government Ministries and our Development Partners;

Ladies and Gentlemen

Bula Vinaka and a very good afternoon to you all.

Introduction

I am pleased to join you for the TrendMicro World Tour 2025 – which is being held in Fiji for the very first time. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the TrendMicro team for bringing this important event to Fiji – an event that has traditionally been held abroad. This reflects growing confidence globally in Fiji’s digital landscape and our regional leadership in technology.

This event being hosted in Fiji, as one of the 8 cities in the region and 100 globally, not only showcases our commitment to and progress in digital transformation and innovation with cyber resilience at its core, but also highlights the potential that lies in our people and businesses. I thank TrendMicro for bringing together such a strong network of global technology partners and local stakeholders here today.

A Platform for Collaboration

Ladies and Gentlemen

Events such as this are more than just conferences. They are platforms that bridge the gap between Government, Industry, and the Private Sector. In a time of rapid technological advancement, these linkages are critical. By coming together, we can harness our collective expertise and resources – needed to address shared challenges—whether in service delivery, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, or digital literacy. I strongly believe that such private public partnerships and collaboration is essential to designing sustainable, resilient and robust digital solutions for Fiji and the Pacific.

Fiji’s Digital Ambitions:

Ladies and Gentlemen

Fiji stands at a pivotal moment. Our nation has embarked on a journey towards a digital economy, where innovation and technology can propel the economy and enhance the quality of life for every Fijian.

This has been fueled through the introduction of Starlink which has empowered our people and businesses in remote and maritime areas to have access to meaningful connectivity. Additionally, the landing of the Bulikula and Tabua subsea cables by Google has further strengthened the resilience of our digital infrastructure.

These major initiatives have made Fiji an even more attractive investment destination where businesses have the means to fully utilise digital technologies to achieve their organisational goals.

Ladies and Gentlemen

To ensure we are coordinated and progress towards our goals effectively, we have a roadmap that aims to harness the power of technology in various sectors ranging from health to education to tourism.

In April, I launched Fiji’s first-ever National Digital Strategy (NDS) 2025–2030. This strategy lays out the Government’s bold vision to transform Fiji into a digitally empowered society and a dynamic, innovation-driven economy.

Through the NDS, we have made a commitment towards  meaningful digital access—driven by innovation, powered by connectivity, and underpinned by inclusion. It is designed to ensure that all Fijians—rural or urban—can fully participate in the digital economy.

The Strategy is helping us work towards meaningful and tangible results like:

• Preparing for the 10% contribution to our national GDP. 2022 statistics tells us that the current ICT contribution to the GDP is 4.2%;
• Creation of over 40,000 jobs across various sectors, spurred by the digital economy;
• Attraction of over 100 million USD in investments;
• Driving innovation and supporting digital entrepreneurship, especially for MSMEs and startups;
• Embedding Cybersecurity, Privacy, Accessibility and good Data Governance and Protection across the Government ecosystem.

These bold results are being supported by a comprehensive Implementation Plan and a lot of work is already taking place in these important areas.

Cybersecurity and Resilience

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am advised that this year’s theme is “Proactive Security starts here” which is timely as we are scaling up with our digitalisation efforts both here in Fiji and as a region. With this, we are also seeing an increase of cyber threats in the region –not just the sophisticated and new type of zero day attacks but traditional threats using the new and emerging technologies.

The attack surface is expanding rapidly as more services go online, businesses digitise operations, and Fijians increase their digital footprint. We are concerned about the increasing scale, sophistication and number of cyber incidents. Our aspirations in this area are clear:

Fiji’s National Cyber Security Strategy will set out our vision for a cyber-safe, secure and resilient Fiji. It will detail our policies that will enable our nation to navigate cybersecurity in the digital age, now and into the future.

This Strategy, which will use the recently finalised Cybersecurity Maturity Model for Nations (CMM) Assessment as a foundation, will provide us with a coordinated approach to ensure a cyber-safe and resilient Fiji. It is our collective responsibility to uplift Fiji’s cybersecurity to harness the opportunities of digital transformation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

While the National Cybersecurity Strategy is being finalised, we are actively working to ensure our National Computer Emergency Response Team (Fiji CERT) is established. It will serve as a vital function within Fiji Government – our “digital first responders” to cyber incidents. And that is why we are ensuring that once set up, the Fiji CERT will be able to deal with nationally significant cyber incidents from the outset.

We believe that the creation of the Fiji CERT will not only improve our incident response capabilities but will also foster collaboration between government agencies, private sector partners, and international allies, ensuring a unified approach to safeguarding our digital infrastructure.

Policies and Frameworks

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a Government, we know that we have to create an enabling environment for our people and businesses. We must ensure that our policies and legislation are reflecting the needs of the digital economy that we envisage. Considering this, I am pleased to inform you that we are currently working on the following national frameworks.

1. A Privacy and Personal Data Protection Policy. This policy will provide a framework through which personal data of every Fijian can be protected. And following the development of this policy, we will commence work on the respective legislation.

2.  National Cloud Policy. We are studying the current cloud landscape of our nation. Once this study is complete, we will use it as a foundation to develop our National Cloud Policy. This Policy would enable us to utilise cloud technology more effectively and responsibly.

3. National AI Policy: Noting the emergence of Artificial Intelligence in our everyday lives and its immense potential for good, one of our key priorities, which is also reflected in the National Digital Strategy is the development of our National AI Policy which we hope to deliver within the next two years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

While we are on the topic of policies and legislation, please allow me to share that last year we acceded to the Budapest Convention. This Convention represents the first global treaty focused on cybercrime and electronic evidence, offering a framework for countries to define cyber-related offenses as crimes, implement investigative procedures, and enhance international cooperation.

Our Cybercrime Act 2021 aligns with the Convention’s principles and addresses cybercrime by defining computer- and content-related offences, establishing procedures for collecting electronic evidence, and facilitating international cooperation. We are now in the process of signing the Second Additional Protocol of the Convention which, once ratified, will improve cross-border investigations by streamlining the process for obtaining electronic evidence from service providers.

Conclusion:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we look to the future, let us remember that our digital ambitions are only possible when fortified by a strong foundation of cyber security and resilience.

Let us harness digital transformation so we can bridge the digital divide and provide new opportunities for Fijians. Connect talent, infrastructure, systems and policy to deliver real outcomes.And let us protect our systems, our people, our businesses and our future through robust digital security.

Before I close, I encourage all of you — from across Government, Industry, and the ICT and cybersecurity sector — to take full advantage of this opportunity and explore what is on offer. Listen to the speakers and ask questions. Make connections. This is your opportunity to find practical, forward-looking solutions that can support your digital goals.

Vinaka Vakalevu.