- FIJI FOREIGN MINISTER KUBUABOLA ADDRESSES G7 ON THE PIDF – This week the Minister for Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation Ratu Inoke Kubuabola addressed the G7 High Level Ministerial Breakfast Meeting on “Putting Peace at the Heart of Sustainable Development”, held at the United Nations in New York.
- Fiji’s Envoy to the UAE meets Ajman Crown Prince – Fiji’s Diplomatic Representative to the United Arab Emirates, Ambassador Robin Nair this week paid a courtesy visit to His Highness Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid, Ajman Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Ajman.
- Fiji and Ukraine Formalise Diplomatic Relations – The Republic of Fiji and the Ukraine formalised their diplomatic relations at a ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 23rd September, 2013 within the margins of the Leaders week of the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
- MINISTER FOR WOMEN TO VISIT VOLIVOLI VILLAGE – The Minister for Women Dr Jiko Luveni will visit Volivoli village in Sigatoka tomorrow to celebrate its commitment to the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community campaign.
- Fiji – Georgia focus on Development Cooperation – The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola met today with the Foreign Minister of Georgia, Dr Maia Panjikidze to discuss ways and means of intensifying relations between the two countries, given the growing developments in their relations in recent past.
1 FIJI FOREIGN MINISTER KUBUABOLA ADDRESSES G7 ON THE PIDF
This week the Minister for Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation Ratu Inoke Kubuabola addressed the G7 High Level Ministerial Breakfast Meeting on “Putting Peace at the Heart of Sustainable Development”, held at the United Nations in New York.
The event was organised by the Governments of Timor Leste, Denmark, and South Sudan under the banner of the g7.
In his remarks, Minister Kubuabola briefed the meeting on the establishment of the Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF): “PIDF was borne out of a desire by the People of the Pacific to create for themselves a space where they can meet with all their representatives to discuss the future they want.”
“Following the Rio+20 meeting, the leaders of the Pacific met in Nadi Fiji in August 2012 at the Engaging With The Pacific meeting and decided to convene a new multi-stakeholder platform for action on the sustainable development and Green Economy. This new platform was called the Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF).”
Minister Kubuabola further explained: “The leaders of the Pacific agreed that all expertise and resources were to be made available to address the complex but inter-related development challenges facing the Pacific region. Furthermore, the leaders called for a united front in addressing sustainable development in the Pacific region.”
“Mr Chairman, the PIDF is open to all the 23 islands of the Pacific whether dependent territories or independent states. It’s membership is open to all sectors: public sector, private sector, and civil society groups in the Pacific.”
“Its focus is solely on integrating green economic policies into Development strategies of the Pacific Small Island Developing States and territories. Our Leaders agreed that whilst economic growth was needed, this growth had to be socially inclusive, environmentally friendly and not endanger the ability of our future generations to pursue their own development aspirations.”
Looking forward to the High Level Political Forum that will be launched by the United Nations during the current session of the UN General Assembly Minister Kubuabola stated:
“…the PIDF is the Pacific’s only participatory and inclusive, multi-stakeholder platform for action on the green economy and sustainable development.”
“More importantly the PIDF is the Pacific’s only South-South development cooperation Organisation and as such is well positioned to be the regional link for the High Level Political Forum set to be launched during this Session of the UN General Assembly.”
Speaking on the outcomes of the inaugural meeting of the PIDF and the establishment of the PIDF Secretariat Minister Kubuabola explained:
“At the inaugural PIDF in Nadi last August over 300 participants from 44 nations attended of which 14 were from the Pacific. The theme for our meeting was, “Leadership, Innovation and Partnership for Green/Blue Pacific Economies”.
“The meeting agreed to focus on ten critical issues in the next few years to bring in green economic policies in the Pacific. These include Inclusive Leadership, A Whole of Society approach to Heath, prioritizing the valuation of our Pacific Common and Collective, long term financing that support our communities on the management of our natural resources. The meeting also agreed to established a permanent Secretariat in Suva. Work on establishing the Secretariat is now well underway in Suva with its formal opening expected early next year.”
Concluding his remarks Minister Kubuabola reemphasized the ground breaking and empowering impact of the PIDF:
“The People of the Pacific through the PIDF are giving voices to those whose voices have not been heard before. Through this Forum we bring accountability and transparency to our decision making processes. With our inclusive and participatory format we ensure that the hopes and aspirations of all our People are honored and respected. This is the only way we can ensure a future for our People that is not only sustainable but also peaceful.”
Present with Minister Kubuabola were representatives of the PIDF Mr Feiloakitau Tevi and Mr Penijamini RT Lomaloma who were invited to the meeting by the Government of Timor Leste.
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2 Fiji’s Envoy to the UAE meets Ajman Crown Prince
Fiji’s Diplomatic Representative to the United Arab Emirates, Ambassador Robin Nair this week paid a courtesy visit to His Highness Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid, Ajman Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Ajman.
Ajman is one of the seven Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. It is situated on the coast of the Arabian Gulf. The Emirate has drawn large numbers of local, Gulf Arab and foreign investors, particularly in the industrial sector, as latest statistics indicate that Ajman ranks third with respect to the amount of industrial projects; it also occupies a major position in the nation’s textile sector.
Sheikh Ammar, in welcoming Ambassador Nair, expressed interest in establishing close cooperation between the two countries and expressed his willingness to pursue common areas of interest in Trade, Tourism and other sectors of the economy which may be mutually beneficial to the Republic of Fiji and the Ajman.
Ambassador Nair said that significant areas of interests for Fiji was Tourism, Agriculture & Education and that he would particularly like to seek Ajman Government’s cooperation and collaboration in higher education and education in medical studies. Sheikh Ammarunder personally arranged for a visit by Ambassador Nair to Ajman University and Gulf Medical School. Proposals also included the possibility of offering scholarships for Fijian nationals to study here.
Ambassador Nair added that the Fijian Embassy was also working hard in promoting Fiji and attracting tourism from the UAE.
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3 Fiji and Ukraine Formalise Diplomatic Relations
The Republic of Fiji and the Ukraine formalised their diplomatic relations at a ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York today within the margins of the Leaders week of the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Fiji’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, and his counterpart H.E Leonid Kozhara signed a joint communiqué establishing relations between the two States.
The communiqué expressed the desire of the Republic of Fiji and Ukraine to establish their relations in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and guided by the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter and international law. The communiqué calls for the promotion and strengthening of bonds of friendship and cooperation between Ukraine and Fiji in political, economic, cultural, humanitarian and other fields.
Following the formalisation ceremony, Minister Kubuabola and Minister Kozhara held talks on areas of common interest between the two countries and assured each other of mutual support of their Missions in the furtherance of common causes in multilateral affairs.
(Photo Attached)
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4 MINISTER FOR WOMEN TO VISIT VOLIVOLI VILLAGE
The Minister for Women Dr Jiko Luveni will visit Volivoli village in Sigatoka tomorrow to celebrate its commitment to the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community campaign.
In February this year, Volivoli village decided to commit itself to the campaign which aspires to promote a violence-free community. At that separate event, the Minister commended the leaders and villagers for their commitment to the campaign.
Volivoli village Turaga Ni Koro or village headman Mr Rupeni Takavo, the turaga-ni-koro said that while the village seldom experiences any form of violence in recent years, the implementation of this program will strengthen peace and unity among his people to keep Volivoli a violence-free village.
“There are about 500 people in this village and we have committed ourselves to work with the government on the violence free program. We have set up a gatekeeping committee to ensure that no violence will be tolerated in Volivoli. The villagers have been informed about the Domestic Violence Decree and Crimes Decree, so are very well aware of the laws in place and the consequences they will face if they break the law,” he said.
The campaign is widely promoted around the country and has seen the inclusion of other key agencies that all work together to ensure its success.
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5 Fiji – Georgia focus on Development Cooperation
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola met today with the Foreign Minister of Georgia, Dr Maia Panjikidze to discuss ways and means of intensifying relations between the two countries, given the growing developments in their relations in recent past.
Fiji and Georgia formally established diplomatic relations on 29 March 2010. Since then, Fiji has continued to receive delegations from Georgia. In November 2011, Georgia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Grigol Vashadze arrived with his delegation. Early last year, a delegation from the Ministry of Education in Georgia came to donate Net Books to schools around Fiji.
The two Ministers also had the opportunity to discuss the need to formalize a Development Cooperation Agreement between the two countries. This would strengthen their relations in the various fields of mutual cooperation. At the moment, Georgia has shown its interest to assist Fiji in the areas of Policing, Civil Service and Anti-corruption.
Minister Kubuabola thanked Minister Panjikidze for the assistance extended by the Georgian Government to Fiji in the various areas of cooperation, including scholarships provided to 6 of our medical students as well as the provision of Net Books to schools around Fiji.
Georgia’s Embassy in Canberra is accredited to Fiji.