Prime Minister and Pacific Islands Forum chair Sitiveni Rabuka hopes to see the Kiribati Government endorse its return to the regional body soon.
Speaking at the State Dinner in Kiribati, Rabuka said he was privileged to hear more about the President, His Excellency Taneti Maamau’s vision and sentiments on leadership in the Pacific.
“Thank you for our discussion. I have the opportunity to talk with you on issues of common interest, our shared values and our future as fellow Pacific Islanders.”
“I deeply appreciate the spirit of friendship and goodwill that has been manifested during this visit and the outcomes of our discussion today.”
“I look forward to meeting your Excellency in Fiji very soon and reciprocating his kindness and your hospitality.”
He said try as we might, we cannot ignore the common histories that enabled our founding fathers to build the cornerstone of a regional family house.
“They were – those leaders were visionaries in their own right and if anything their voices carry over the waves the message that we need each other more than ever before and I remind us all that a “house divided shall not stand.”
“This is our unique opportunity to make peace and progress as a Forum family. But we must be diligent about it, we cannot work in isolation, we must work together in unity,” Rabuka added.
“As we presented the tabua this afternoon, there were words of apologies in the presentation we apologized for how Fiji had acted in the time of the crisis in our association – in our family.”
“When you accepted it, you accepted our apology. We thank you and we look forward to seeing you in Fiji in the near future.”
