Need To Know
Robin Nair
Fiji Think Tank Director Has Big Ambitions
The University of Fiji only opened its doors to students at the beginning of the year, but its initiatives to date are already attracting attention. Perhaps its boldest move so far is the setting up of the Centre for International and Regional Affairs (CIRA). Launching the think tank, Fiji Foreign Affairs Minister Kaliopate Tavola says CIRA is a desperately needed resource for the country. Fiji-born Robin Nair, a former Australian diplomat with extensive international experience and an Australian National University academician, is CIRA’s honorary interim director.
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| Robin Nair [photo: Courtesy University of Fiji] |
Pacific Magazine: How were you persuaded to take on the task of setting up the center?
Robin Nair: I served in the Fiji diplomatic service, the United Nations and subsequently in the Australian foreign service. During my time in the Fiji foreign service, I was very much aware of the limits on our resources to serve Fiji’s particular interests in the international arena as well as Fiji would have liked to have it done. Fiji was facing the same international agenda as developed countries, which had many more resources at hand.
I realized this even more when I went on to work in the Australian foreign service. I was determined to do something to help Fiji in this regard.
Our (CIRA’s) focus is to assist not only the government but also business and the civil society. We want to reach out to the public to promote a better understanding of Fiji’s involvement in foreign and international trade issues and for them to better understand the use of taxpayers’ money in this important area
of Fiji’s development.
PM: What’s at the top of CIRA’s to-do list, considering the many areas
that need such high-end advice and
policy plans?
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We also have offered to the government and provided them with the outline and contents of a three-week short course on diplomacy and negotiation and conference skills for (government) officials. We have also offered short two-day courses on the understanding of foreign and trade policies to various other organizations which might need to have an appreciation of the international arena in which Fiji operates.
PM: In what ways do you plan to achieve the very ambitious aims of CIRA and who do you have to help you?
RN: Financially it has been hard and I pay tribute to those organizations which were able to see the need for such a center and provided seed funding before we could prove our worth. We have so far survived on a shoestring budget.
We have appointed a number of adjunct professors and adjunct fellows of the center. This forms a “group of friends” of the center. We will look to them to provide advice and moral and in-kind support to achieve our aims.
Our patron is Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group based in Brussels. He is a former foreign minister of Australia and an eminent scholar of international affairs. We will soon be appointing an advisory body for CIRA within the university. We have appointed a deputy director of CIRA. She is Claire-Diane Giraldeau.
PM: What international challenges are facing Fiji?
RN: The most important challenge for Fiji and indeed for any small island developing country is the impact of globalization on their political, social, economic and cultural life and development and how to cope and manage this challenge in its national interest. For example, the impact of globalized world trade. Where does Fiji fit into this? What should Fiji be doing; what should it be giving priority to; how can it do these with its limited resources; should Fiji restructure its economy to meet the new challenges of the economically globalized world and effectively participate in its possible benefits; where should its main concentration be, global, regional or bilateral or is there such a choice?
On other non-trade fronts, the international challenges include, for example, the issues of vulnerable or weak states emerging in the region; the influence or effects of other dominant players in the region, for example, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, China, Taiwan and to a lesser extent India; the issue of the need to broaden its bilateral relationships base, particularly with countries of South East and North East Asia; the issue of sustainable management of shared resources in the region, particularly fisheries; the issues of transnational crimes and diseases; the management of relations with aid donor countries and organizations; and finally the important issue of Fiji’s involvement in international peace-keeping efforts. There are also issues relating to Fiji Diaspora overseas, the remittance of funds and or investment from this sector. Finally there is the issue of attracting foreign investment.
