The monthly General Membership Meeting of the Palau Chamber of Commerce (PCOC), a non-profit organization representing the Private Sector of Palau, took place on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, at the Desomel Restaurant – Palasia Hotel Palau.
PCOC welcomed about 60 members and guests to discuss current business matters of the organization and to hear from guest speakers. The Board of Directors gave updates on the projects that the organization is currently involved in and what to expect in the upcoming months.
The Palau Chamber of Commerce invites a different guest speaker each month to speak at the general membership meeting to inform the members of current issues affecting the business community in Palau.
For August 2021’s meeting, PCOC invited Honorable Minister Steven Victor, Minister of agriculture, Fisheries & Environment (MAFE) for the Republic of Palau and Ms. Anuradha Gupta-Bintorio, Land Use Planning Coordinator for the Republic of Palau, directly under the MAFE, who is working on the Palau GEF6 Project.
The two guest speakers touched on many different important topics, but the main takeaway of Minister Victor’s presentation is an urgent need to work together, public and private sector, to shift the focus from subsistence farming and fishing to market-friendly production, to improve the connection between local farmers and fishermen with the local businesses, including hotels and restaurants, to diversify the industries in Palau and aim to reach sustainable food production that ensures food security for Palau citizens and residents and that relies less on imports.
Ms. Anuradha Gupta-Bintorio gave an overview of the “Palau Biodiversity Project (“GEF6”) and the Private Sector”, covering its planned four outcomes, partners of the project, the vision for the development of Babeldaob, crafted with the help of the State
Governments and their State Planning Teams and land use planning data, which included science and spatial data.
The Palau Chamber of Commerce looks forward to begin the conversation about the above-mentioned topics with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Environment (MAFE) for the Republic of Palau, and to create a strong foundation and partnership with the Ministry. The partnership seeks the direct communications and assistance between Minister Victor and his Ministry and the Palau Chamber of Commerce, aimed to include
and improve the business community or private sector’s involvement in the planning of sustainable developments of these very diversified domestic industries.
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