Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, received a courtesy call from Non-resident Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Fiji, Mr Tomáš Dub, yesterday (25/05/22).
The Prime Minister congratulated Mr Dub on his new diplomatic appointment and reaffirmed the Fijian Government’s commitment to work closely with the Czech Republic to elevate cooperation in mutual priorities.
The two countries’ cooperation at the multilateral level through membership of the United Nations (UN) and collaboration through the European Union (EU) was acknowledged.
He acknowledged the contributions of the Czech Republic and the EU to the COVAX facility, which have enabled Fiji to access life-saving vaccines and progressively revive our economy through the reopening of Fiji’s international borders.
The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of partnership in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and he expressed Fiji’s appreciation to the European Union (EU) and the Czech Republic for their continued support.
Perspectives on climate actions, trade and investment, tourism, and private sector development were also shared at the meeting.
The Prime Minister extended the Fijian Government’s best wishes to Ambassador Dub as he assumes his role and he gave assurance that through the ongoing cooperation of the Fiji and Czech Republic’s Missions in Canberra, the bilateral relations of the two nations would be strengthened.
In response, Ambassador Dub commended Prime Minister Bainimarama for his strong leadership on climate change and peace and security — issues of importance to global and regional prosperity.
He thanked the Fijian Government for the kind hospitality accorded to him during his official visit to Fiji, which will pave the way forward to strengthen ties between the two nations.
“Czech Republic will preside over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of this year, so we will continue with the implementation of the European Union Indo-Pacific strategy. The Czech Republic has adopted the Indo Pacific strategy, which will be presented at the beginning of our presidency of the EU Council.”
“Czech Republic contributes to the EU funding and enhancing support for Fiji through EU development assistance is another important area of cooperation.
“We are organising a high-level meeting on Indo-Pacific in June this year and Fiji is invited to be part of this high-level meeting,” Ambassador Dub said.
He thanked the Prime Minister for the opportunity to meet in person, share insight on the recent developments in the region, and explore opportunities to deepen cooperation.
“Fiji and Czech Republic are likeminded countries and this has been demonstrated with our partnership at the United Nations, most recently on the UN resolution demanding the Russian Federation to immediately end its invasion of Ukraine.”
