Biman Prasad, Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, discusses the country's economic recovery, the challenges of coalition government and his vision for deeper Pacific regional integration. Drawing on his unique perspective as both an academic economist and experienced politician, Prasad explains how Fiji is navigating post-COVID recovery while managing significant debt, why he believes visa-free travel throughout the Pacific (including Australia and New Zealand) is essential for true regional integration, and how the unprecedented coalition government is working to restore democratic institutions after years of restrictions
The episode opens with Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad reflecting on his transition from academia to politics. Born in Dreketi, Vanua Levu, in a rice farming area that benefited from Australian aid programs in the 1970s, Prasad rose through the academic ranks to become Professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific. He left academia in 2014 to lead the National Federation Party, entering politics during what he describes as a challenging period following the 2006 coup and years of military rule.
Prasad characterises the government that ruled from 2014 to 2022 as an "elective dictatorship," noting that despite elections being held, strict media censorship, restrictions on freedom of speech, and draconian laws carried over from the military regime created an undemocratic environment. His eight years in opposition taught him valuable lessons about the tension between good economics and good politics — a perspective he now applies as Finance Minister in Fiji's first coalition government in over 30 years.
The conversation explores Fiji's economic recovery from COVID-19, when the country experienced the fourth-largest economic contraction globally with GDP falling by almost 20%. While acknowledging IMF concerns about the pace of fiscal consolidation, Prasad defends the government's approach of balancing debt reduction with continued social spending. He highlights the decision to write off $650 million in student debt — replacing it with merit-based scholarships — as an example of necessary post-COVID support that the IMF might not fully appreciate.
Prasad outlines ambitious targets for Fiji's economic future, including becoming a high-income country by 2050, which would require sustained growth of 4-5% annually. The government has reduced the debt-to-GDP ratio from 90% to 78% since taking office and aims to bring it below 60% over the next 15 years. However, he emphasises that this must be achieved through economic growth rather than excessive spending cuts, which could be counterproductive.
A significant portion of the discussion focuses on regional integration, with Prasad articulating his vision for visa-free travel throughout the Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand. He argues this would represent Australia's "century in the Pacific," creating deeper unity and common purpose across the region. While acknowledging this cannot happen overnight, he points to recent improvements in visa processing times and growing support from Pacific leaders as evidence of progress.
The interview addresses current challenges including the 32% US tariff on Fijian exports — the highest in the Pacific — which particularly affects Fiji Water. Prasad expresses disappointment but remains optimistic about negotiations, while warning about the broader risks of global trade wars potentially affecting tourism and remittances if major economies slow down.
On climate finance, Prasad advocates for what he calls "decolonising climate finance," arguing that Pacific Island countries need urgent support for adaptation and loss and damage rather than just mitigation. He criticises the application of the same funding rules to small island states as to large countries like Indonesia or India, calling for recognition of the unique vulnerabilities and limited fiscal capacity of Pacific nations.
The episode also examines Fiji's complex relationship with development assistance. While the reduction in US aid presence is manageable given USAID had only recently re-established operations, Prasad sees the current global funding constraints as potentially beneficial, forcing African countries in particular to reduce aid dependence and take greater control of their health systems. He notes that Pacific countries, unlike many African nations, have largely avoided becoming overly dependent on external funding.
Throughout the conversation, Prasad emphasises the importance of technical education in addressing labour shortages, particularly in tourism. He acknowledges that many trained Fijians will migrate to Australia and New Zealand but sees this as part of a broader regional integration that benefits Fiji through remittances. The government is investing heavily in technical education infrastructure that was neglected by the previous administration.
The discussion concludes with Prasad's reflections on governance and democratic institutions. He notes with pride that the current coalition is the first in Fiji's 54-year history where a government has changed hands democratically and lasted more than a year. The immediate repeal of media restrictions, including the draconian Media Industry Development Act, and the restoration of academic freedom, represent fundamental changes. While acknowledging that "no government gets everything right," he believes they have established a solid foundation for democracy that augurs well for Fiji's future stability and prosperity.
Biman Prasad (excerpts): "I want to say that it'll be Australia's century in the Pacific, and that will be because we will be a fully integrated region. And the benefits of that integration would be immense. Some countries will benefit more than the others, but the fact remains that everyone will benefit. ... For the first time in Fiji's 54-year history, a government that has changed from one lot to another has actually lasted for more than a year. ... No government must be removed by any other means, but through the ballot box."
Amita Monterola: We wish to acknowledge the indigenous people of Australia, the wider Asia, Pacific region and other parts of the world, and express our respect for their traditional knowledge and practices, which stem from a deep connection to the lands and waters they have inhabited for millennia.
Robin Davies: Welcome to Devpolicy Talks, the podcast of the Development Policy Centre. We're part of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country in Canberra.
I'm Robin Davies.
This is our twelfth season, and we're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and in-depth features on topics central to our research — Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and other regional and global development issues.
In this episode, I speak with Biman Prasad, Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, who brings a unique perspective to the challenges facing Pacific Island nations. A former Professor of Economics and Dean at the University of the South Pacific, Prasad entered politics in 2014 during one of Fiji's most challenging periods, becoming leader of the National Federation Party (NFP).
As an academic, he published extensively on trade, environment and development issues while holding visiting professorships at universities in Japan, New Zealand and India. His shift to politics came at a pivotal moment, at the time of the first democratic elections that followed the 2006 coup and during what he describes as an "elective dictatorship" that maintained many restrictions despite holding elections.
Now serving as one of three Deputy Prime Ministers in Fiji's historic coalition government— the first to successfully transition to power and survive beyond a year — Prasad oversees not just finance but strategic planning, national development and statistics. His appointment in December 2022 marked the NFP's return to government for the first time since the extremely short-lived Bavadra government of 1987, and represents a new chapter in Fiji's democratic development.
In our conversation, we discuss how his academic training in economics intersects with the political realities of governing, why he champions visa-free movement as the key to Pacific regional integration, and how Fiji is navigating the complex challenges of post-COVID recovery, climate change and shifting global dynamics while working to achieve its ambitious goal of becoming a high-income country by 2050.
Biman Prasad: I’m Biman Prasad, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Fiji.
Robin Davies: Minister, you moved from a long career in academia into, I think, about eight years in opposition here in Fiji, and now into your current role as finance minister and Deputy PM in a coalition government, an unprecedented coalition government. So I guess almost on a personal note to begin with, before we talk about Fiji's economic situation, what has that transition been like, and how have you been able to apply your past experience and skills as an economist to your practical role as a finance minister?
Biman Prasad: Well, that's a very interesting question. My transition from being an academic economist into politics was at a very challenging time for Fiji. As you know, we had the coup in 2006 under military government, until we had an election on an imposed constitution in 2014. And so I entered politics in 2014, but even with an elected government, with a constitution, we still had several elements of dictatorship. So I called that government at that time an “elective dictatorship”, but the transition was an interesting one, and sometimes I feel that it's good to get into opposition first before you get into government. But for me, being in opposition for eight years under a very difficult condition, where you had strict media censorship, strict laws on freedom of speech, many draconian pieces of laws that were put under the military government's reign were included or translated or migrated during the elected Parliament's term. So none of the laws that existed during the military regime were actually changed, but in fact, they were made automatically parliamentary acts. So that created a very, very undemocratic space, even in Parliament, and the processes of Parliament and how the opposition could articulate its views in Parliament. Nonetheless, there was a parliament, and we used it. I used it, in my view, very effectively, to hold the government to account. And for me, it was not a new thing, because as an academic, you know, I used to do a lot of analysis of government policies, government budgets, but then I realised the practicality and the transition that I saw and the experience I have being in government now that good politics is not necessarily good economics or good policy, and good policy or good economics is not necessarily good politics. And the advantage that I have is that I can see both very clearly now that I'm in government, and the skills that I developed in terms of analysis, in terms of reading data, in terms of looking at statistics, all that is helping me as Minister of Finance to cut through some of the nuances that usually overtake good thinking in economic policy and economic agenda. And in a way, in the last two budgets, I've done that. We have stabilised the finances of the country coming into government with the economy that was burdened with a huge debt still there, but we did a number of tax reforms, number of policy reforms that is now yielding good results. We've had good economic growth in 2023, 2024. This year, we are projecting a growth rate of 3.4%. So in short, transition from being a professor of economics to an opposition leader in Parliament to a finance minister has been quite an interesting one.
Robin Davies: So you've talked about the stabilisation of Fiji's growth rate. There was sort of a big post-COVID rebound, and things are now stabilising. Your deficit's coming down. You've reduced debt to GDP significantly, but still some way to go. I think the IMF is suggesting a more rapid rate of debt reduction. What do you say to your IMF Article IV teams about this?
Biman Prasad: You know, I like IMF advice, Article IV. It does put up some red flags. But IMF is not necessarily always correct in terms of assessing the political imperatives, the demands on expenditure that our people have. So coming out of COVID, so before COVID, Fiji had a negative growth. And when we got hit by COVID in 2020, we had one of the largest contractions — in fact, Fiji had the fourth largest contraction of all the economies in the world. Our economy dipped down by almost 20%. So, coming out of COVID in 2022 and then 2023, we found that people were still transitioning from loss of jobs, from loss of income, loss of livelihoods, and so 2023, 2024, while we did some fiscal consolidation, we also had to make sure that we continued to look after people. So we invested more in social protection policies, in health policies, in education policies. We found that the loan scheme the previous government had had burdened, you know, thousands of students, more than 50,000 students and their families were burdened with almost a total of $650 million debt, which many of them were unable to pay. So what we did, we took a significant decision and wrote off the whole $650 million debt and replaced it with a merit-based scholarship, of course, with the proviso that students getting those scholarships will serve the country as part of their bond. So we had to spend a lot more money in terms of looking after our people post-COVID, and some of it has not gone away. And so we have tocontinue providing those kind of, you know, social attention or social expenditure to address that transition. So the IMF may not be very pleased, and I can understand that very well. Obviously, we cannot just use reduction in expenditure to control our debt, to our deficit. We cannot use just expenditure cuts to reduce our debt to GDP ratio. We have to raise more income, but we also have to grow the economy. So our focus in the last two and a half years has been to grow the economy. And we've put in a new national development plan and a three-year, 20-year vision. We have a very clear vision now, as opposed to what we had in the last 15, 16 years. We want to be a rich or a high-income country by 2050, and for that, you know, we are targeting an average growth rate of between four to 5% for the next 10 to 15 years. We've been able to reduce the debt to GDP ratio from 90% when we came into government down to 78%. But any additional revenue measures and any attempt to reduce expenditure further is going to be counterproductive. And therefore, our focus is to grow the economy. And if you grow the economy, then that provides more revenue for government, that reduces the debt to GDP ratio. And we've set a target for the next 15 years to bring the debt to GDP ratio down to below 60%.
Robin Davies: You talked about those additional investments in education. A big part of the economy is tourism. Maybe a quarter of the economy is tourism, and there have been persistent labour shortages — so, you know, supply side constraints. Is some of that education funding being directed to technical education?
Biman Prasad: Absolutely. In fact, a large part of what we've done in the last two years, as opposed to what happened previously, where technical education, emphasis on technical education was completely removed. A lot of the investment in the infrastructure for technical education went bust. You know, we lost millions and millions of dollars. So a big part of the new scholarship scheme and new funding arrangements is to support technical education. And we are working very closely. Also, we are having some discussions with Australia. We're linking this to the PALM scheme. We're linking this to the number of people who are leaving for Australia, particularly those that are well qualified, especially STEM teachers, nurses, and many other technical areas. So part of our strategy is to continue to train as many people as possible, knowing that we will lose a lot of them to Australia and New Zealand. And obviously that's linked to remittances, you know, which has increased significantly over the last two or three years. But we are also seeing a slowdown, I think, post-COVID. In 2022, Australia opened up student visas where you could work for 40 hours. There was a much more liberalised labour market migration regime by both Australia and New Zealand. Many people left in 2022 and 2023. But I think since then, those policies have changed. And so there is also a slowdown, but also there is a realisation that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the river. So people are assessing the cost of living, the other pressures that you face in Australia and New Zealand. So there is a mixed bag. But despite all that, we are focused, and we don't mind that our people go to Australia or New Zealand to work there. That relationship will continue to broaden, and that's why I'm also arguing for a much deeper, meaningful regional integration, including visa-free travel for all the countries in the Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand.
Robin Davies: That has been a very strong theme for you over a period of time — that what is really fundamental to regional integration is the freer movement of people, including through visa-free travel, including Australia and New Zealand. I know you've said that this is not something that could be achieved overnight. What's the sort of roadmap in your mind for moving towards that end?
Biman Prasad: So I think there is progress already there. Since we started this conversation, there's been a lot of support from the leaders of the Pacific Island countries, including the Prime Minister of Samoa, our Prime Minister, and many others who have said that a much deeper, meaningful regional integration, including visa-free travel, harmonisation of policies, regulations, sharing of ideas and information. We just recently had a regional meeting of the CEOs of investment funds, and there I said, you know, there's this great opportunity for movement of investment funds within the region. And I think also from a geopolitical, geo-economic, strategic point of view, the regional integration with Australia and New Zealand will bring further unity within the region. It will help the Pacific as a region to have a very common, very clear common vision about its development strategy, security strategy, geopolitical strategy. And as I said in Canberra in 2023, this could be Australia's century in the Pacific. And I really mean it. I think so. In terms of visa, there's already a lot of improvement. I mean, I can see before you apply for a visa here in Fiji to go to Australia, you probably needed one or two months. Now you get it in one or two days. New Zealand has already eased certain provisions of migrants who are in Australia wanting to come to New Zealand. So there is a lot of thinking going on, but I think we need a lot more strategic thinking about how we can move this quicker and better.
Robin Davies: Now you've seen the re-election of the Albanese government in Australia. Is this a topic on which you intend to directly engage the returned Australian government?
Biman Prasad: Yes, we have, and we're very pleased that the foreign minister for Australia, her first visit was to Fiji for first bilateral meeting in the Pacific. Australia is a great partner for Fiji and the Pacific. In fact, Australia is the largest development partner, and I can't stop always to thank Australian government, Australian people for their contribution towards the development and Australian aid to Fiji, right from my days of growing up in the 70s, you know, when Australia funded this agriculture scheme in Vanua Levu, where I come from, that transformed my life, my parents' life, everybody's life around that area. So Australian aid has been very impactful. I think people should not lose sight of that. The Australian people should not lose sight of that, that Australian aid has been in my assessment, and I'm feeling that now. I felt it as a little kid, and I know there are many thousands of people around the Pacific also feel that. So there is a real good story about Australian aid in the Pacific, and as a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister now, I want to say this very loudly and something that we need to appreciate. But I'm also saying that there is a lot more that Australia needs to or can do in the area of regional integration and in the area of a new strategic thinking about what the Pacific region ought to be in the next 20 or 30 or 40 years. And my view is that, again, I want to say that it'll be Australia's century in the Pacific, and that will be because we will be a fully integrated region. And the benefits of that integration would be immense. Some people, some countries, will benefit more than the others, but the fact remains that everyone will benefit.
Robin Davies: Now we've talked about people movement, but on goods and services, Fiji and Papua New Guinea were the two countries that did not sign up to the PACER Plus regional trade agreement. And I believe Fiji is in the process of reviewing its position on that. What would you like to see Australia change about the agreement?
Biman Prasad: Well, personally, I'm disappointed that we were not able to get PACER Plus agreement signed. So the first point I want to make that Fiji is committed to be part of the PACER Plus agreement. Of course, there are issues where we need to discuss and ask more support from countries like Australia and New Zealand, particularly in the area of quarantine, what we call non-tariff barriers, because these are like contentious issues in trade agreements. And I think there's a lot more that Australia and New Zealand could do in the area of non-tariff barriers, particularly in the with respect to quarantine issues and come and also Pacific countries. I saw part of the reason why some of the countries didn't sign PACER Plus, including Fiji, is also related to the, what I call the coalition of anti-competitive strategy. So there are a lot of opposition by businesses, manufacturers, who've been protected for many, many years. And therefore they see PACER Plus as eroding some of the, what you call rent-seeking strategies. And so part of the problem is not all. The problems have been coming from Australia and New Zealand. I think part of the problem is also from the Pacific. So as a government, as a new government, we are carefully looking at that, and we want to be part of PACER Plus.
Robin Davies: Now turning to the opposite of trade liberalisation, Fiji was hit with very significant tariffs by the US administration. I think 32%, the highest in the Pacific. This came from left field. I think primarily it's exports of Fiji water that will be affected. What's your judgment of the impact this is going to have?
Biman Prasad: Well, we were extremely disappointed. We actually had a small trade surplus with the US in 2024, and it doesn't make economic sense to equate trade deficit or surplus with tariff. And so 32%, obviously, was a very surprising rate. In the short term, some of the other exports, such as kava, turmeric, agriculture produce, we don't think that will be affected too much. The elasticity of demand for these products is probably inelastic, and people will continue to consume kava and all that. But our biggest export to the US, which includes Fiji Water, that could be affected. That could be affected because there are a lot of domestic players. Fiji Water is a brand, and if it becomes too expensive, and we've talked to Fiji Water people, they are obviously concerned about 32% tariff. They could live with 10%. So the positive thing out of this is we — US is a very strong development partner for Fiji. It's been a very good partner for Fiji for so many years. And we feel that the negotiations that are currently being undertaken, that we would be able to reach an agreement where both the US and Fiji could live with the level of tariff for protection. But the broader issue that we are concerned with is this trade war that's happening globally. If this leads to a global slowdown, economic slowdown, and that it affects countries like Australia and some of our donors and major trading partners, then through various transmission mechanisms, like remittances, tourism — a disposable income is affected in countries like US or Australia, the first thing people do is cut the holidays. And so we are a bit concerned about that, and if that happens then — but we are also anticipating. We are in the process of formulating our budget. And sowe will put in some anticipatory measures to see whether, if there is a global economic slowdown. I mean, if you compare the GFC, global financial crisis, we were shielded quite a bit, because the Australian economy was very strong. Australia had put in — I know there was a lot of spending in the Australian economy. People were sent cheques to support, and that helped. And so we were not affected that much. We are concerned that if the Australian and New Zealand economies slow down as a result of this global tariff war, then we could be affected by our tourism, by our remittances, and also the ability of our people to actually go and work in Australia and New Zealand.
Robin Davies: Now you've referred to Fiji's longstanding development partnership with both the United States and Australia. Of course, we're talking at a time where United States development assistance has been largely obliterated or will be. Australia, not so much, reasonably consistent, especially for the Pacific. But what does this mean for Fiji's economic planning? Are you thinking of a transition to zero dependence on aid, or a diversification of your development partnerships?
Biman Prasad: We — so there will be a couple of approaches that we — so with respect to US, we were not in the past 10, 12 years. The US presence in the Pacific was kind of diluted. And we were concerned about that when we were in opposition, and we saw a lot of positive things happening before the tariff war. US had re-established the USAID office in a big way in Fiji. And we were expecting a lot more funding, as opposed to what was there in the previous 10, 15 years. But then that was cut short before anything tangible could happen in a big way. So in some sense, there was not much that we lost because we had not gained much because USAID was just starting up. There was an attempt to increase the presence and visibility of US development assistance in the Pacific. So that's now being curtailed. So we are not going to be affected directly because we know that some of our other development partners have continued and there is no indication that that would be reduced. And we are not only relying on development assistance purely for our infrastructure and other needs. We are also diversifying our economy. So in the case of Fiji, you know, we are putting a lot of emphasis on agriculture, not just focusing on tourism. We realise what happened to tourism during COVID. We are providing better incentives for business processing. You know, Fiji is now the 10th most sought destination for back offices, you know, outsourcing industries picking up. And so we are taking that approach. And as I said, you know, we have a vision to become a high-income country by 2050. And hopefully by that time, you know, we would not be directly dependent or solely dependent, or in a big way dependent on our development partners for our development assistance, particularly in the area of infrastructure.
Robin Davies: At the regional level, of course, the Pacific very much depends on assistance for climate change adaptation through a range of vehicles. I know you have been very vocal about the need for a simplification of the global climate change architecture and measures to facilitate access for Pacific Island countries. What are your highest priorities in that area?
Biman Prasad: So the point we are trying to make very clearly and loudly is that Pacific need is more in the area of adaptation, more in the area of loss and damage that has already happened as a result of climate change. And what we are saying is that there is an urgency, the speed, the scale of climate finance. We don't have time on our hands, because the damage that we have to fix has to be done now, because if we don't do that now, then the damage that is going to come is going to be a disaster, and that we would never catch up. So while we are continuing to invest in the area of mitigation, and we know a lot of our development partners have a focus on mitigation, and we support that, but we are saying the need of the hour for Pacific Island countries is in the area of loss and damage that we need to fix. That anything that we build today in the Pacific, whether it's a hospital, whether it's roads, water supply, bridge, agriculture infrastructure, all these infrastructure will have to be climate resilient. And Pacific Island countries neither have the fiscal space to borrow any additional funding to do this or the economic domestic resource mobilisation capacity to do that. So that is why we are saying that the ease, the speed of accessibility to these climate finance institutions, and the execution of these funding at a speed that we think is way out of tune and the need of the Pacific countries needs to be fixed. I mean, when I talk about decolonising climate finance, I mean exactly that. That you cannot apply the same rules of a World Bank grant or a World Bank concessional loan or Asian Development Bank loan, or some other support through GCF or loss and damage fund in the same way that you would apply that to Indonesia or India and apply that to places like Tuvalu and Kiribati or Fiji. It is not going to happen. So we feel, and I think there is the positive side, is that there is enough understanding already about the needs of the Pacific. And I know the World Bank President visited Fiji last year. He went to Tuvalu, and he himself is invested in pushing for the speed, the scale of some of the infrastructure development needs in the Pacific. And our development partners, Australia understands this, Japan understands it, and many others who are supporting us and we look forward to the Pacific COP, COP 31 in Australia, and we are deeply committed to that, and we very strongly support Australia's bid to host COP 31.
Robin Davies: Which I think will be resolved one way or the other this month, if I understand.
Now we're nearly out of time. I just wanted to finish with a question about, I guess, your hopes for governance in Fiji over the coming years. Many of the things that you have spoken positively about, academic and media freedom, greater investments in the social sector. These things have happened so far under the coalition government. Do you think this is a stable model? Do you think it will serve Fiji's interests into the future?
Biman Prasad: So, a very important question. So let me just put this fact: for the first time in Fiji's 54-year history, a government that has changed from one lot to another has actually lasted for more than a year. We are now in government for two and a half years, and we came into government and immediately took actions to remove the restrictions on democracy. The principles of democracy, media freedom, academic freedom, transparency, good governance, these were processes that were put in place. We changed some of the legislations. We repealed the draconian Media Industry Development Act, which put a lot of restrictions. Sowe have started by making sure that the ingredients of a good democracy is brought back, and we are very happy. There's a lot more scrutiny of government. We haven't got everything right. No government gets everything right all the time, but we have set a foundation that is looking very solid, looking very acceptable. I think there is a much better understanding within our security forces, within our military, about the need for stability, need for political stability, for economic growth and prosperity, and that is badly needed for the improvement in the quality of life of our people. So my view is that we — this country — we were better than Mauritius before 1987 on every indicator. We have lost so much of development progress in the last three or four decades, and as a government, what we have demonstrated is that, look, governments must come and go. Governments have a time. No government must be removed by any other means, but through the ballot box. And this has been a good transition from the previous government, which probably didn't want to leave power, but our institutions stood strong. We stood strong, and we demonstrated that this can be done. And so I think we have set a good foundation that augurs well for the future of this country. And Fiji's political stability, Fiji's progress can also lead to progress throughout the Pacific region, and with the support of Australia and New Zealand, and with a much deeper regional meaningful integration, this can be further solidified.
Robin Davies: Okay, well, I need to let you get back to one of the essential functions of government, which is preparing your national budget for later this month. So thank you very much.
Biman Prasad: Thank you. It's been a pleasure talking to you.
Amita Monterola: Devpolicy Talks is the podcast of the Australian National University's Development Policy Centre. Our producers are Robin Davies, Amita Monterola and Finn Clark. You can read and subscribe to our daily blogs on aid, international development, and the Pacific at devpolicy.org, and find the transcript and show notes for this episode on our website. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. Send us feedback or ideas for episodes to devpolicy@anu.edu.au. Join us in a fortnight for the next episode of Devpolicy Talks.