he Agence Française de Développement (AFD) (French Development Agency) Team is currently in Fiji on a mission to strengthen its partnership with the Fijian Government in areas such as climate financing, biodiversity, gender equity, women empowerment, education, health, amongst others.
Permanent Secretary (PS) for the Office of the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs, Mr Yogesh Karan, received a courtesy call from the Regional Director of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Ms Virginie Bleitrach yesterday (31/08/22).
PS Karan welcomed Ms Bleitrach and her accompanying delegation to Fiji. He extended the Fijian Government’s appreciation to AFD for supporting locally and regionally coordinated programmes, benefiting communities in Fiji and the Pacific.
PS Karan said Fiji looks forward to increased partnership opportunities with AFD to complement Fiji’s national development priorities and the “2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.”
The prospects for partnership in climate financing, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, renewable energy, women entrepreneurship, were highlighted at the meeting.
Ms Bleitrach acknowledged Fiji’s leadership in the Pacific in the area of climate and sustainable development.
AFD Regional Director thanked PS Karan for the opportunity to meet in person to discuss opportunities to further increase AFD’s support to Fiji in key areas of Development.
She also acknowledged the Fijian Government for the kind hospitality accorded to the AFD team during their visit to Fiji.
AFD implements French development and Official Development Assistance (ODA) policy, through co-constructed shared solutions with its partners, funds, fosters and accelerates the transition towards a resilient world. By setting up AFD Pacific Ocean Regional Office in 2018 based in Noumea, the French Government broadened its regional mandate focused on climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation and regional projects in the Pacific Region.
It supports Fiji and the region through KIWA initiative, which is a multi-donor programme aimed at strengthening Pacific Islands ecosystems, community, and economic resilience to climate change using nature-based solutions (NBSs) by protecting, sustainably managing, and restoring biodiversity.
The KIWA initiative was launched in 2020, it has a budget of EUR 57M ($127 million FJD) and it’s managed by AFD and is based on simplified access to funding for climate adaptation and Nature Based Solutions initiatives.
At the 5th Steering Committee Meeting recently held in July in Fiji, the KIWA Initiative’s success was demonstrated through local and regional projects; with 3 projects launched and 5 under development covering Fiji and all three of the Pacific’s sub-regions.
