Prime Minister’s Ministerial Statement On The Fiji-New Zealand Relationship-(23-05-2024)

Good morning Honorable Speaker,

Honorable Ministers & Assistant Ministers,

Honorable Leader of Opposition and Honorable Members of this August House.

 

I also bid good morning to guests and members of the public in the gallery today.

To everyone tuning into the live broadcast of today’s parliamentary sitting, Ni sa Bula Vina’a, Namaste and Good Morning to you all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to deliver my ministerial statement elaborating on Fiji’s bilateral relationship with New Zealand and our Duavata Partnership Agreement.

Sir, New Zealand is one of our oldest partners and friends in the region. It is one of the first countries that Fiji established diplomatic relations with upon independence in 1970.

We share more than just our geographical location, we share a rich historical, political, cultural and people-to-people links that informs our relationship on all fronts.

Even as a colony we stood together in times of crises, as we did with our other allies.

Our service personnel stood together in the Pacific during WWII, in the Solomons, in Bougainville and in Malaya. And, in recent times, in peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, Sinai, with the South Pacific Peacekeeping Force in Bougainville, Timor Leste, and again in Solomons under the Regional Assistance Mission RAMSI.

Outside the military front, we stand together in times of natural disasters and at the humanitarian emergency front. The relationship between Fiji and New Zealand assumed a new frame with the signing of the Duavata Partnership Agreement in 2022.

Sir, under the Duavata Partnership, Fiji and New Zealand collaborate on the following areas:

i. Economic Resilience,

ii. Security,

iii. Social well-being, and

iv. Climate Change and Resilience.

The Duavata Partnership covers the period 2022-2025, and we are now looking at review of the agreement to identify opportunities for further collaboration in key sectors. On the invitation of the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Honorable Christopher Hipkins, I undertook an official visit to New Zealand from 5 – 8 June last year (2023).

It was the first official visit of a Fijian Prime Minister to New Zealand in 16 years, and my first official visit after 25 years since I last visited as Prime Minister in 1998.

Sir, the visit involved a number of high-level engagements with key government and non-government stakeholders. I met with then Prime Minister Hipkins and we discussed a range of issues including:

(i) the growing geo-strategic interest

in the region,

(ii) Pacific regionalism, and

(iii) the importance of building longer

term capabilities so that Fiji and

Pacific Island Countries are self-

reliant and how New Zealand can

help us in that journey.

 

Mr. Speaker, New Zealand and Fiji alongside other Pacific Island forum leaders share an ambitious vision for the social, cultural, economic and environmental resilience of the region where we are strong, prosperous and secure.

We are stronger when we combine our efforts and focus on Pacific regionalism and the priorities of the Blue Pacific Continent.

Mr. Speaker, we share a strong focus on regionalism, including upholding Pacific Islands Forum unity; support for the University of South Pacific; and working with other traditional partners, such as Australia, on defence and security matters.

We also discussed our long history of close sporting, cultural, and people-to- people links and the work we are doing in the spirit of our Duavata Partnership agreement.

Mr. Speaker, Fiji and New Zealand are connected by the depth of our cooperation across a broad range of sectors including policing, health, trade and industry, education and fisheries to name a few.

I also told the then NZ Prime Minister, that the people’s coalition government is serious about growing our economy and that we are keen to work harder to boost Fiji’s export capacity to New Zealand.

The then Prime Minister also expressed gratitude for the deployment to New Zealand of our emergency and RFMF personnel following Cyclone Gabrielle.

The then Prime Minister and I also discussed a Defence Cooperation Agreement that will allow defence officials to undertake engagement in different areas including capacity building and upskilling and exposure to new technologies, interoperability and technical support, among other matters.

The Agreement will also strengthen maritime security and improve the disaster and humanitarian response co-ordination between our two nations.

Mr. Speaker, that Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed the following week between our two Defence Ministers in Suva, on 14th June 2023.

On meeting with then-Foreign Minister, Hon. Nanaia Mahuta we delved into our economic recovery after the pandemic, and the challenges that climate change poses to our development aspirations.

We agreed that climate change remains the single greatest threat to lives and livelihoods in the Pacific region.

After this meeting, Hon. Mahuta announced additional support of NZ$11.1 million to assist our response to the impacts of climate change. I welcomed the boost which will support the implementation of renewable energy projects, infrastructure resilience, and climate policy.

At the meeting with Hon. Mahuta I also raised the possibility of the grant of visa on arrival for Fiji citizens. This is an issue that we will continue to raise with the New Zealand government.

I also had the opportunity to meet with the then-Minister for Climate Change, Hon. James Shaw.

We discussed opportunities where Fiji and New Zealand can work together at the multilateral level and in particular at COP (Conference of Parties) negotiations. We also discussed the need for public- private sector cooperation and the importance of new technologies in moving us forward to meet our commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Mr. Speaker Sir, New Zealand has been a long-term proactive partner in supporting Fiji’s ongoing efforts to manage the increasingly detrimental impacts of climate change. New Zealand has provided NZ$ 20 million in flexible climate finance, along with capacity support and technical assistance, to support Fiji in delivering on our national climate change priorities.

New Zealand also continues to support the National Disaster Management Office including with the prepositioning of emergency supplies in Fiji to assist during times of disaster, as and when needed.

Mr. Speaker Sir, New Zealand remains one of our most important trade and investment partners with two-way trade between New Zealand and Fiji reaching an all-time high of NZ$1.36 billion in 2023.

Mr. Speaker, New Zealand has also been supporting Fiji with trade negotiation capacity support.

This includes a grant of NZ$800,000, to support ongoing training for our trade officials.

We continue to collaborate on trade issues including for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) which this August House has resolved to ratify earlier this week.

While in New Zealand, I also met with the Fiji-New Zealand Business Council. The event was attended by up to 100 members of the Fiji-New Zealand Business Council.

I raised with our private sector partners the importance of continuing to invest in Fiji, highlighting Fiji’s positive economic growth following the COVID-19 pandemic and to support the Government’s investment target of NZ$2billion.

I also expressed my support towards the revival of the Fiji-NZ Business Council as an avenue to open up further opportunities of investment to Fiji.

I am happy to see the next Fiji-New Business Council meeting being hosted here in Fiji in June.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I also made sure to take time to visit members of the Fiji diaspora living in both Auckland and Wellington.

We were able to share with the Fijian Community our national development priorities, the upward trajectory of growth and development. In particular, I conveyed to them our appreciation for their continued support through remittances received from New Zealand.

As you may be aware Mr. Speaker, personal remittances to Fiji reached 22 $1.25b in 2023, an increase of 20.4% over the figure in 2022.

Our people abroad make valuable contributions and I urged the diaspora community to continue to be good ambassadors of Fiji to New Zealand.

I also urge them to be law abiding contributors to the New Zealand economy.

In concluding Mr. Speaker Sir, I take this time to thank the New Zealand Government for the protocols and courtesies accorded to me during my visit.

In concluding Sir, please allow me to express gratitude to the people and Government of New Zealand for the support and assistance we continue to receive under the Duavata Partnership.

Vina’a Va’alevu, Dhaanyavaad & Shukria.