A Tongan delegation led by Dr Nailasikau Halatuituia and Maliumoeao Mafi will attend a Māori Pacific Business Forum in New Zealand this week.
The two day forum is designed to allow Pacific resource owners and Waikato-Tainui to establish business links.
The forum, organised by the Pacific Cooperation Foundation will be held at the Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development on June 26 – 27.
Representatives from Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea will also attend.
The event is being held jointly by the PCF and Te Ohu Whai Ao, an indigenous business development trust set up by Māori business leaders.
Its aims included developing global indigenous business, trade and development.
“While there are many similarities between Pacific island countries and Aotearoa in terms of indigenous cultures, ancestry links and natural resources, they also share similar development challenges,” the Pacific Cooperation Foundations’ CEO, Don Mann, said.
In an interview with Kaniva news earlier this year, Mann said the PCF had a long term goal of creating business opportunities between Māori business and Pacific islands.
Iwi economic entities were worth about NZ$40 billion and Pacific nations could learn from iwi about how indigenous bodies had developed over the years into successful businesses and managed economic and social transitions.
According to a recent report, Tainui has $1.4 billion worth of property assets, with an average annual return to investors of seven percent.
The main points
A Tongan delegation led by Dr Naliasikau Halatuituia and Maliumoeao Mafi will attend a Māori Pacific Business Forum in New Zealand this week.
The twoday forum is designed to allow Pacific resource owners and Waikato-Tainui to establish business links.
For more information
Te Ohu Whai Ao
Iwi becoming a growing financial force – report
Business councils, private sector voice, vital to Pacific Cooperation Foundation says new CEO
