Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Biman Prasad has reiterated the need for more concessional resources and grants to support Fiji’s ongoing economic recovery efforts.
He highlighted this during his meeting with the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Masatsugu Asakawa during the Annual Meeting in South Korea.
Prof Prasad expressed his gratitude to ADB for its steadfast support during the pandemic to mitigate the health and economic catastrophe induced by the pandemic.
He said Fiji has received close to $900 million in funding support from ADB since the onset of the pandemic and more assistance is needed to support economic recovery efforts.
The two leaders also discussed the upcoming new Fiji ADB Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2024-2028.
Prasad urged the ADB to continue to work closely with Fiji to ensure that the new CPS responds to the country’s evolving needs.
The meeting also addressed the urgent need for climate change support, specifically climate adaptation, for Pacific small island states like Fiji.
Prof Prasad further highlighted the importance of climate change adaptation and resilience-building measures, including infrastructure investments to reduce the vulnerability of Pacific island nations to the impacts of climate change.
He welcomed ADB’s continued support in this regard.
Discussions also focused on ADB’s support towards investments in the water sector, road infrastructure and bridge replacement, Suva port relocation, blue economy and private sector financing.
