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The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Lenora Qereqeretabua received a courtesy call from the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Caribbean and Pacific, Mr. Omar Hassan Shehadeh.
The first of such visit by the UAE’s Special Envoy demonstrates the UAE’s unwavering commitment to deepen the bilateral relations and collaboration between the two nations.
Hon. Qereqeretabua welcomed the UAE delegation and also acknowledged efforts by the UAE to further strengthen engagements in critical sectors such as trade and economy, climate change and sustainability, tourism and investment, as well as agriculture and food security.
Discussions highlighted the need to establish a Taskforce with an Action Plan to expedite progress in these vital areas, with a focus on creating employment opportunities, capacity building, and initiatives to improve the livelihoods of local communities in Fiji.
The UAE delegation expressed interest to support Fiji’s efforts to showcase Fijian-made products and foster connections with potential investors, aiming to expand export markets for Fijian made products. Both sides also expressed enthusiasm about the potential for enhanced economic and trade cooperation through the UAE’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Further, the meeting highlighted UAE’s interest to send a Team to Fiji to firm up the partnership avenues through further consultations, with objective to realign cooperation with Fiji’s development priorities.
In his remarks, the Special Envoy emphasised UAE’s readiness to support Fiji particularly given its status as hub of the Pacific region, unfolding opportunities for broadened economic and trade cooperation, climate adaptation and mitigation initiatives.
He acknowledged Fiji’s renewed commitment to advance multilateralism and regional cooperation, notably through the launch of Fiji’s first-ever Foreign Policy White Paper and Oceans of Peace Concept.
Additionally, the Special Envoy emphasised the importance of continued dialogue and global cooperation to navigate through the pressing issues such as climate change and geopolitics, build economic stability and self-reliance.
The meeting held earlier this week at the Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Suva, was an opportunity for Fiji and UAE to look at avenues for multilateral and bilateral cooperation.
