At the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA77) at the UN Headquarters in New York this week, Fiji expressed its foreign policy priorities, along with the Blue Pacific.
The UNGA77 Side-Event on “Ocean Nations – An Indo-Pacific Islands Dialogue” convened by the Carnegie and Sasakawa Foundation, featured Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Satyendra Prasad, as a keynote speaker.
In his remarks, Ambassador Prasad spoke on the core challenges faced by Fiji and the Pacific Island countries; highlighting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; climate change, and development challenges that the region faces.
He also reflected on the important steps taken by Fiji to strengthen regional solidarity and advance regional interests in the international arena.
“The Blue Pacific is diverse and it is an oceanic superpower. The Blue Pacific is thriving. People, communities, and countries across the Blue Pacific are on the move; building their economies; expanding their trade; connecting with the rest of the world; welcoming the World.”
He said multilateralism matters the most to small states of the Blue Pacific and the region. The recent expansion of partnerships on the global stage in key sectors such as; climate and oceans, trade and investment, and security, amongst others was applauded by Ambassador Prasad.
According to Ambassador Prasad, the only frameworks that matter to Blue Pacific in the geopolitical competition of the present day are those that Blue Pacific creates, accepts, and proposes, such as the “Blue Pacific 2050 Strategy.”
On the issue of the climate crisis, he reminded the global audience “that stable climate and safe oceans matter to every Pacific Islander, and emphasised Fiji’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050. He urged the other nations to scale up their commitment to climate actions and commit to the net zero target.
In order to create a secure, safe, and sustainable future for the Pacific people, he informed the forum on opportunities for greater cooperation with Fiji and the Pacific. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Sasakawa Peace Foundation generates strategic ideas and independent analysis, supports diplomacy, and trains the next generation of international scholar-practitioners to enhance partnership worldwide; address common challenges and advance shared interests.
The organisers of the UNGA side event thanked Ambassador Prasad for his insightful presentation projecting the Pacific’s voice in the global arena.
It generated significant discussions on the need to respond to complex development and adaptation challenges that Pacific states face; including how they advance their stewardship of the world’s largest ocean and ecosystem. Senior foreign dignitaries of Tonga, Maldives, and the United States (US) Indo-Pacific Special Envoy will address the conference as well.
