Hon. Qereqeretabua Meets with the Special Envoy of Japanese Prime Minister and Parliamentary Vice-Minister

The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Lenora Qereqeretabua received a courtesy call from the Special Envoy of the Japanese Prime Minister and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Masahiro Komura.

The first of such visit from the Special Envoy demonstrates Japan’s unwavering commitment to strengthen diplomatic relations and cooperation.

Prime Minister of Japan Hon. Fumio Kishida has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka to visit Japan at the margins of Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM10) Meeting.

In receiving the delegation, Hon. Qereqeretabua acknowledged Japan’s ongoing support to Fiji and thanked Mr. Komura for his timely visit which is an opportunity to further deepen collaboration between Fiji and Japan, ahead of the upcoming PALM10 Leaders Meeting scheduled from 16 to18 July, 2024.

The Assistant Minister welcomed the Japan’s recently established Official Security Assistance (OSA) program which enables equipment upgrade to enhance Fiji’s maritime security and law enforcement capability. Fiji is part of the first batch of countries to receive OSA assistance, with Japan currently working on expediating the project to provide patrol boats and other related maritime equipment to Fiji.

In addition, the Assistant Minister thanked JICA volunteers for their contributions and JICA led initiatives such as scholarships offered to Fijians and projects aimed at improving the livelihood of communities in Fiji.

Through its renewed framework for development cooperation, Japan aims to strengthen engagements with Fiji in areas of climate change and disaster risk management, nation building efforts, economic and business relations, infrastructure development, and people-to-people exchanges. Under the auspices of PALM10, Japan aims to deepen engagements with Fiji.

In his remarks, Mr. Komura said Japan attaches great importance to its partnership with Fiji as the hub of the Pacific with immense potentials for economic growth and investment.

Mr. Komura commended Hon. Prime Minister Rabuka for his exemplary leadership and reasserted Japan’s interest in his concept on the Ocean of Peace. He said Japan stands ready to support Fiji in its development priorities and aspirations.

The Special Envoy express his appreciation for the warm hospitality accorded to him upon his arrival and looks forward for further deliberations to take Fiji-Japan relations to newer heights.

With a renewed commitment, JICA has resumed Volunteer Program since May 2023, with 753 volunteers dispatched to Fiji since the inception of our cooperation in July 1983. JICA Scholarships provides opportunities for Fijians to study at the Japanese Universities, attaining their Bachelor, Masters and PhD level qualifications offered under the SDGs Global Leaders Program (Known as Pacific-LEADS), a program which was committed at the 7th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM-7) in 2015. To date, 45 students have been dispatched from Fiji under the programme.

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