Vanuatu through the office of the Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority (VIPA) participated in a week long program initiated by the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS) on increasing investment knowledge and know-how that can assist with investment policy developments for participating countries.

From the 16th to the 20th of September, VIPA official Ms Minnie Edmanley, was attached with the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise organization for peer learning and knowledge exchange in Auckland, New Zealand.
During this time, Ms Edmanley was fortunate to meet and engage with the NZTE staff, meet program managers and directors of NZTE and key organizations that worked in collaboration with the NZTE to maximise the efficiency and quality of investments into and exported from New Zealand.
The week long attachment provided firsthand experience for Ms Edmanley into how the New Zealand Government’s focus and aspirations for the development of investments in NZ are supported and implemented by each respective agency.

Ms Edmanley had the opportunity to also discuss with the Overseas Investment Office under the Land Information NZ (LINZ) organization in New Zealand on how inward FDI is registered and approved for implementation in the country.

“With VIPA’s dual role as both the Vanuatu Government’s promoter and regulator for foreign investments into Vanuatu, it was especially important to learn about how other countries register foreign investments and key angles or lessons that we can contextualize for Vanuatu” she says.

VIPA is extremely grateful for this learning experience and a follow up detailed report to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat will be developed on the key outcomes that VIPA intends to undertake as a result of this attachment.