Prime Minister, Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, met with the President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), His Excellency David W. Panuelo, during his official visit to Fiji this week.
The Prime Minister formally welcomed and thanked President Panuelo for his visit to Fiji, which signifies the two nations’ collaboration as Pacific Vuvale.
He said that as a unified region, our enduring partnership is of great importance in achieving socioeconomic recovery and building resilience from climate change and the pandemic.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed the Fijian Government’s commitment to work closely with the FSM Embassy in Suva to strengthen relations at all levels.
He said Fiji looks forward for the ongoing support of its Pacific Vuvale like FSM, while preparing for the important global meetings like COP27 scheduled in November this year.
In his capacity as the Pacific Islands Forum Chair, Prime Minister Bainimarama called for FSM’s continued support as Fiji works towards revisiting and strengthening climate pledges by the end of 2022. This is in accordance with the priorities of the Small Islands States and their call for enhanced accessibility to Climate Financing for climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.
He acknowledged the Pacific Vuvale for their recent collaborative effort and call for action at the regional meeting on “Our Oceans Conference” successfully hosted by Palau.
The PIF Chair took the opportunity to update President Panuelo on the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Leaders’ Meeting in Suva, scheduled from the 12th to 14th July.
He said this would be the first in-person meeting of Forum Leaders since 2019 in Tuvalu, and it will commemorate the 50 year journey of Pacific regionalism and launch of the 2050 Strategy of the Blue Pacific Continent.
The Prime Minister assured President Panuelo of his continued friendship and future collaboration between the two nations.
In response, President Panuelo thanked Prime Minister Bainimarama for the kind hospitality accorded to him during his visit to Fiji.
He expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Bainimarama for the talanoa session on regional prosperity and in advancing shared aspirations.
