India stood by Fiji in times of great need and worked shoulder to shoulder to overcome the challenges posed by the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
In a joint press conference with India’s Minister for External Affairs, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Suva today, Rabuka said Fiji is forever grateful to the Government and the people of India for supporting the nation through the provisions of lifesaving vaccines, humanitarian assistance, among other initiatives in our collective efforts to build back better from the global challenges.
“Together we have built a robust multifaceted partnership which covers cooperation in all major areas of nation building including agriculture, education, health, climate change and development of Micro Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) with a special focus on training, capacity building and capability development.”
Rabuka extended the Government and the people of Fiji’s heartfelt appreciation to India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Government of India for their incredible support in co-hosting the 12th World Hindi Conference in Fiji.
“Pleased to say that this is the first high-level visit from the Government of India in almost a decade since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Fiji in 2014. Honourable Minister, your visit to our shores, symbolizes the warm and long-standing friendly relations, mutual respect, goodwill and strong people to people ties shared between our two nations.”
He added Fiji shares a profound history which began when the first indentured labourers arrived on our shores in 1879.
“The immense contributions of the indentured labourers towards our nation building will be forever cherished. In honour of the many sacrifices made by the Girmityas in Fiji, the People’s Coalition Government has declared Girmit Day as a national public holiday in Fiji. This is yet another day, where we will get to commemorate the special cultural links we have shared for generations.”
He also said today’s meeting signifies a landmark achievement in our shared commitment to advance Fiji and India’s cooperation at all levels.
“It focused on prospects for greater cooperation in the post pandemic era. There are enormous opportunities for increased collaboration in the shared goals on economic prosperity, climate resilience, peace and security and sustainable development.”
“I note with enthusiasm the positive discussions we had today to further advance mutual cooperation in the key areas of development, notably in health, education, infrastructure, renewable energy, sugar industry to mention a few.”
