- PRESIDENT RECEIVES INDIAN SCIENTISTS – A team of Indian scientists met with His Excellency the President, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau at Government House today.
- FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES SENIOR UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL – The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ratu Inoke Kubuabola this morning received the President of the University of the Ciputra Entrepreneurship Center (UCEC) from Indonesia, Mr Antonius Tanan.
- Corrections Officers commended for their efforts – The Fiji Corrections Service Third Quarter Command Brief was opened this morning by the Commissioner of Corrections, Lt. Colonel, Ifereimi Vasu at the Suva Central Eastern Division (SCED) Bure in Korovou, Suva.
- GROWING entrepreneurship FOR YOUNG FIJIANS – The presence of entrepreneurship experts for the Public Service Excellence Awards is timely and critical says PSC Commissioner, Dr Akanisi Kedrayate.
- UN BODY REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO WORKING WITH FIJIAN GOVERNMENT – The new UN Coordinator and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) residential representative, Ms Osnat Lubrani paid a courtesy call to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola at his office in Suva.
- MINISTRY LAUNCHES NEW INFORMATION PLATFORM – The Ministry of Social Welfare this week launched its new website and a Facebook page to boost its presence on both the local and international scene.
- FIJI LOOKS TO INDIA FOR DAIRY LEARNING ASSISTANCE – Fiji has approached India to look at ways of boosting the dairy industry in the country.
- HIGH COMMISSION VISITS FIJIAN PATIENTS ON FIJI DAY – Fiji’s High Commissioner to India H.E Yogesh Karan visited Fijian patients undergoing medical treatment Indian Hospitals in New Delhi during Fiji day last week.
- Primary School Students celebrate World Food Day – A healthy balanced diet for students will contribute to better performance and promote the introduction of more local produce for school menus in canteens.
- NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY TO BE FINALISED SOON – The review of Fiji’s National Energy Policy is almost complete with the finalisation to be made by the end of this month.
1 PRESIDENT RECEIVES INDIAN SCIENTISTS
A team of Indian scientists met with His Excellency the President, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau at Government House today.
India’s High Commissioner to Fiji, His Excellency Vinod Kumar led the five member team to Government House to meet with Fiji’s Head of State.
“We have a team of scientist from the India’s International Space Research Organisation and other agencies from Indian in connection with monitoring of a space mission that we are going to launch at the end of this month,” High Commissioner Kumar said.
He added that the mission is an important one because it will be India’s first ever orbit mission to planet Mars.
“This will be Indian’s first ever Mars orbit mission and for that, some monitoring of stages of the launch will be required from the Pacific,” Mr Kumar said.
He said 2 ships will be deployed to the Pacific and woks are taking place in Suva and once those are complete, the ships will be sailing to these specified destination points for the monitoring of the mission.
“We choose Fiji because of its location is ideal, being a communication hub and our close and friendly relations,” Mr Kumar said.
Mr Kumar commended the Fijian Government for the support provided towards this mission.
“At the moment there are 18 scientists that are here. We are very thankful to Government and the people of Fiji for their support in carrying the required task,” he said.
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2 FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES SENIOR UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ratu Inoke Kubuabola this morning received the President of the University of the Ciputra Entrepreneurship Center (UCEC) from Indonesia, Mr Antonius Tanan.
Mr Tanan who is in Fiji to deliver the keynote address at this year’s Service Excellence Awards paid a courtesy call to the Foreign Minister at his office in Suva.
In his discussions with the Minister, Mr Tanan emphasized the importance of business entrepreneurship skills for young Fijians. At the same time, he expressed his interest on engage with relevant agencies on discussions pertaining to entrepreneurial skills training. According to Mr Tanan entrepreneurial skills training is one of the key driving forces for the development of young entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sector that add to the economic development of a country. He had referenced the success of micro enterprise developments in Indonesia and the importance of entrepreneurial skills training.
Minister Kubuabola welcomed the proposals and encouraged Mr Tanan to continue engaging with the Public Service Commission in further pursuing entrepreneurial training for the private and public sector.
Mr Tanan is expected to be meeting with other relevant agencies to discuss this matter further.
Public Service Commission Permanent Secretary, Mr Parmesh Chand was also present at the meeting.
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3 Corrections Officers commended for their efforts
The Fiji Corrections Service Third Quarter Command Brief was opened this morning by the Commissioner of Corrections, Lt. Colonel, Ifereimi Vasu at the Suva Central Eastern Division (SCED) Bure in Korovou, Suva.
In opening the three day-meeting, Lt Colonel Vasu thanked senior officers for their efforts and the support that was shown during the third quarter of the year.
“I must applaud you all for the sacrifices that you have made during the third quarter which has seen a lot of positive changes being highlighted by the communities at large as well as through the media,” said Lt Colonel Vasu.
“There are of course critical areas that need to be strengthened and we will need continued dialogue and discussions to ensure that our work is carried our properly.”
He also highlighted the need for officers to maintain discipline at all times and to ensure the smooth flow of work for this last quarter of the year.
The three day meeting which ends on Friday 18th October will see senior officers discussing critical issues as well as highlights from the 13 corrections centers around the country.
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4 GROWING entrepreneurship FOR YOUNG FIJIANS
The presence of entrepreneurship experts for the Public Service Excellence Awards is timely and critical says PSC Commissioner, Dr Akanisi Kedrayate.
Speaking at a press conference today on the SEA to be held this Friday , the PSC Commissioner said that it was important for the civil service to look outside conventional methods when approaching service delivery to all its clients.
“The critical questions that need to be asked at this time is what kind of civil servants are we looking for in the 21st century and what type of students do we want to come out of tertiary institutions,” Dr Kedrayate said.
“When we have Excellence Awards, we look at performance based, we want people who are able to perform and think outside the box, not to only passively take instructions but to be more innovative and to think of ways in which they can perform better.”
To this end, the Commissioner added that the presence of Mr Antonius Tanan (entrepreneurship expert) who will be the keynote speaker at the SEA on Friday is timely as entrepreneurship was also about bringing in ideas and the ability to think at all times.
President Director of the University of Ciputra Entrepreneurs Centre (UCEC), Mr Antonius Tanan said that the key message that he wanted to share was the ability for university graduates to be job creators and not just job seekers.
“The main mission of the centre is to promote and inspire people on entrepreneurship, we inspire them to think of the possibility of being entrepreneurs,” Mr Tanan said.
“In our universities, more than half of our graduates already have a company, so they become job creators and not job seekers after completing their studies.”
PSC permanent secretary, Parmesh Chand said that the Commission has always encouraged keynote speakers from different parts of Asia as there is a lot of activity in their economies in terms of service delivery and growth.
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5 UN BODY REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO WORKING WITH FIJIAN GOVERNMENT
The new UN Coordinator and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) residential representative, Ms Osnat Lubrani paid a courtesy call to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola at his office in Suva.
Ms Lubrani has had a longstanding career working with the different bodies of the United Nations. Her previous posting was in Kosovo where she had served as the UN Development Coordinator under the UNDP. Aside from this Ms Lubrani has served under the United Nations office in Brussels, Slovakia and New York.
Ms Lubrani reaffirmed her commitment in working with the Fijian Government on areas of common development interests.
Minister Kubuabola thanked Ms Lubrani for her support and briefed her on the latest developments in Fiji which included the newly established Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF).
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6 MINISTRY LAUNCHES NEW INFORMATION PLATFORM
The Ministry of Social Welfare this week launched its new website and a Facebook page to boost its presence on both the local and international scene.
At the official launch for the event, the head of the ministry Dr Jiko Luveni highlighted that her officials have taken great strides and effort to inform stakeholders of the core business of the ministry and governments’ perseverance to empower the disadvantaged and women in the country.
“It makes this launching so enterprising, knowing that the website and Facebook are the very platform to embrace that. The slogan Information is Knowledge and knowledge is Power surfaces to mind”, Minister Luveni said.
She said that the public, stakeholders and even beneficiaries can now have access to information regarding their services.
“There is great potential that these instruments will assist us to communicate better and to serve our clients more effectively. The impact of social media cannot be underestimated nor denied. Credibility status are accorded to organisations with Facebook stance,” Dr Luveni said.
The ministry recognises the need to capitalise on social network sites as a way to connect to the younger generation who indulge more on social networks sites, and also to men, families, women and communities to help them make the right choices in life.
“I encourage the public to log into our website and Facebook page and to provide feedback on how we can serve them better. I look forward to seeing changes that are people friendlier connecting and impacting,” Dr Luveni said.
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7 FIJI LOOKS TO INDIA FOR DAIRY LEARNING ASSISTANCE
Fiji has approached India to look at ways of boosting the dairy industry in the country.
This was raised by Fiji’s Agriculture Minister Mr Inia Seruiratu during his recent visit to India. The Minister visited the Indian National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal and told senior officials that Fiji regards India very highly for its expertise in dairy and stated that Fiji would welcome any assistance to assist the country in this sector.
Fiji’s resident High Commissioner to India Mr Yogesh Karan was at the meeting and proposed that Fiji consider establishing cooperation agreements with the Institute.
Dr A K Srivastava, Director& Vice Chancellor, in welcoming the Fijian delegation led by Minister Seruiratu briefed them on the history of the institute. He assured the Minister that the NDRI would be willing to assist Fiji and suggested that Fiji submit a proposal detailing requirements on specific areas of studies to his Institute through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
According to Dr A K Srivastava, the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal originally started as the Imperial Institute of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in 1923 at Bangalore. Following expansion and independence, it became known as the NDRI.
As the premier Dairy Research Institution in the country, the NDRI undertakes research, teaching and extension activities towards dairy development in the country. Being the National Institute, it conducts basic and applied research with the objective to enhance animal productivity and also to develop cost effective technologies for the benefit of the teeming millions. Further, the Institute provides high quality manpower to meet the human resource requirements for the overall dairy development in the country. The Institute also undertakes extension programs for transferring the expertise from the laboratory to the farmers’ fields.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and Dairy Training Centre (DTC) at NDRI conduct regular training programs Farmers and rural women in order to acquaint them with modern dairy farming practices. The Institute continues to share its innovative dairy processing technologies with the Indian Dairy Industry through the Consultancy Processing Cell. Some of the technologies that have been recently transferred are those of long-life paneer, whey- jaljeera drink, instant banana milk mix, payasam mix, gulabjamun mix, calcium-enriched milk, emulsifier mix for frozen desserts, Herbal ghee etc.
The Minister was accompanied by the Vice Chancellor for the Fiji National University, Dr Ganesh Chand, Permanent Secretary for Rural Maritime Development and National Disaster Management, Mr Filipe Alifereti, Deputy Secretary for Agriculture Development, Mr Uraia Waibuta, and Second Secretary, Mr Om Goundar.
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8 HIGH COMMISSION VISITS FIJIAN PATIENTS ON FIJI DAY
Fiji’s High Commissioner to India H.E Yogesh Karan visited Fijian patients undergoing medical treatment Indian Hospitals in New Delhi during Fiji day last week.
High Commissioner Karan met with patients following post-surgery, who are in India with their families and attendants.
The purpose of this visit was to provide moral support and encouragement to Fijian citizens many of whom are visiting India for the first time. Karan wished every Fijian a speedy recovery and a happy 43rd Independence Day.
The High Commissioner was accompanied by Second Secretary, Mr Om Goundar.
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9 Primary School Students celebrate World Food Day
A healthy balanced diet for students will contribute to better performance and promote the introduction of more local produce for school menus in canteens.
Various government stakeholders that include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Department of Environment today staged coordinated efforts for primary schools to celebrate World Food Day and to launch the Health Promoting Schools (HPS) Local Food Garden Project.
The Chief Guest for the event was the Trade Representative for Taiwan to Fiji, Ms Jane Cheng, who officially launched the project and emphasised the importance of the day.
“Every aspect of the food system has an effect on the final availability and accessibility of diverse and nutritious foods and consequently it has a vital impact on the consumer’s ability to choose healthy diets”, she said.
“World Food Day 2013 is an opportunity to explore sustainable food systems that will bring about the future we want, the change we want to embrace to move us in the right direction,” Ms Cheng said.
Students from eleven primary schools’ gathered to join in the celebrations with the theme, “Sustainable Food System for Food Security and Nutrition”.
Other major stakeholders, the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health showed great support as staff and officials gathered with the students to advocate the importance of investing in local produce for healthy lifestyles.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Director for Animal Health and Production, Tomasi Tunabuna affirmed the ministry’s plans to revive the agricultural programs in primary schools.
“We continue to assist schools that undertake agriculture courses through teachings assistances.
“But the ministry after this event would like to venture into working closer and linking with the primary schools into projects for the benefits of the students,” Mr Tunabuna said.
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10 NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY TO BE FINALISED SOON
The review of Fiji’s National Energy Policy is almost complete with the finalisation to be made by the end of this month.
Minister for Works, Transport and Public Utilities, Timoci Natuva revealed this at the final consultations on the policy in Suva today.
Mr Natuva said the review of the energy policy is aimed at improving our overall reliability and security of supply and quality of energy services, as well as continuing work on accessibility, sustainability and efficiency.
He said that the contribution by various stakeholders towards the draft energy policy has enabled government to inculcate smart choices about the current and future energy needs for Fiji.
“We have also aligned our policy with the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) objectives and have captured recent changes, challenges and emerging issues affecting Fiji and the region,” Mr Natuva said.
The review of the policy began with consultation workshops with important players in the energy sector in the beginning of this year.
“All comments received were compiled and submitted to the team of consultants that were appointed to facilitate the review for us. With the work that has been accomplished, I believe we can all say that we now have a clear direction and way forward in terms of our energy requirements.
“With the choices that we have made for ourselves, I believe we will be saving much needed expenses in terms of imported mineral fuel products, thus continue to forge ahead and reduce the deficit in our balance of payments,” Mr Natuva said.
The minister highlighted that Fiji’s efforts to better use and manage its energy resources also contributed to the global effort of mitigating risks of climate change and environmental degradation.
Six strategic areas have been identified in the draft energy policy:
-Grid-based power supply;
-Rural electrification;
-Renewable Energy;
-Transport;
-Petroleum and substitute fuels;
-Energy Efficiency;
Mr Natuva added that the strategic areas will assist Fiji in achieving a resource efficient, cost effective and environmentally sustainable energy sector here.
“We can only move closer to our vision if we are united, and more importantly work together in the implementation of the policy.”
The policy to be implemented soon is the result of coordinated efforts between Economic Consultants Associates (ECA) and Snowy Mountain Engineering Consultants (SMEC), funding partners such as German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the various stakeholders.
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