Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says pressing challenges faced by the Pacific region is directly due to the consequence of the war of aggression in Ukraine.
This he said has resulted in supply chain disruptions and threats to food security, resulting in unpredictable inflationary pressures due to over-dependence on imports such as petroleum products.
While delivering his statement at the U.S-Pacific Islands Summit held in Washington, DC, Rabuka said the Summit is timely because the leaders need to further enhance trust and solidarity among ourselves for multilateralism and the rules-based order to prevail.
Rabuka said Fiji is willing to explore preferential market access arrangements and appealed to the U.S. to reconsider the re-authorisation of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Scheme.
The Prime Minister also highlighted that Fiji is committed to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and its focus on empowering women and girls in emerging country partners.
“Multilateralism and the rules-based international order are essential for addressing interconnected crises and challenges and for mobilising financial resources, trade, and investment to support sustainable economic growth.”
Rabuka said a win-win outlook and a brighter future can be achieved through cooperation and hard work and it was an honour for him to address the Summit, having assumed office nine (9) months ago in December 2022.
