A delegation from the Nigeria National Defence College (NDC) is currently in the country to explore opportunities for cooperation with Fiji. The NDC’s first visit was in 2014.
During their visit to the Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delegation met with the Permanent Secretary Foreign Affairs, Dr Lesikimacuata Korovavala.
The NDC approached their visit from the premise that as a small developing island state ‘what makes Fiji what it is today?’ The discussion acknowledged Nigeria’s interest to learning from Fiji’s best practices and at the same time exploring potential areas of cooperation in all sectors and through global platforms such as the United Nations, Commonwealth, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
The discussion endeavored to establish core elements of the baseline from which explorations of potential areas for advocacy of ambitious global actions in peace, climate change, international rule-based order, the multilateral system and SDG targets could be pursued.
In welcoming the delegation PS Korovavala acknowledged Nigeria’s roles in the international scene including peacekeeping operations where they served alongside the Fijian Battalion as contingents of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) it its early years of deployment.
Dr Korovavala also recognized that there are lessons that both countries can learn from each other while expressing hope for future engagements in areas of mutual benefits such as in security, renewable energy, conservation and agriculture development.
Representing the Nigerian delegation, Air Commodore Ayodele Famuyiwa said they look forward to incorporating Fiji’s best practices and are grateful for the insightful discussions they have had with agencies in Fiji.
The delegation returns to Nigeria, later this week.
