Dr. Biman Prasad, chief of Fiji’s National Federation Party. File
| Photo Credit: Shanker Chakravarty
The Government of Fiji will search nearer relations with democracies together with India, stated Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Biman Prasad who’s on a five-day go to to India.
Speaking to The Hindu from Bengaluru the place he attended occasions associated to the India Energy Week, Dr. Prasad who can also be the Finance Minister of Fiji, expressed hope that Fiji and India will cooperate in assembly local weather change targets and in making certain “common democratic values” within the Indo-Pacific area.
“Over the past fifteen years, Fiji had not promoted ties with other democracies in the way that it should have been. We are focused on developing our ties with other like-minded democracies like India and tackling challenges like climate change,” stated Dr. Prasad, who highlighted that his go to to India is the primary international go to by any member of the brand new authorities that got here to energy in December 2022.
Dr. Prasad’s National Federation Party joined the three-party coalition in December 2022 after an election failed to present a majority to any single occasion. The election ended the sixteen-year authorities of Frank Bainimarama and introduced veteran chief Sitiveni Rabuka as the brand new Prime Minister.
During his keep at Bengaluru, Dr. Prasad met India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and the 2 Ministers mentioned attainable Indian help to Fiji in its power transition by supporting the switch of know-how, and constructing of climate-smart infrastructure. Mr. Puri assured Fiji of India’s help to the housing sector of the island nation.
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In Bengaluru, Dr. Prasad offered his concepts in a high-level Ministerial Session on “Strategies for a sustainable and decarbonised future”. He highlighted the particular hyperlink of the Indian group in Fiji which arrived on the Pacific island within the late 19th century and has over time supplied a particular bond between the 2 nations.
“The rise of India is a positive development for the Indo-Pacific region as it will support common democratic values, decarbonisation and human rights in the region,” stated Dr. Prasad supporting a higher position for India within the Indo-Pacific area.
In Delhi, Dr. Prasad will meet External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Wednesday.
Fiji is a number one member of the group of Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) which is dealing with a few of the quick threats from local weather change and land erosion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Fiji in 2014 when the concept of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) was mooted. The first FIPIC summit was held in Jaipur in 2015 which was adopted by a summit in Suva in 2016.