Fiji and the United Kingdom (UK) will continue to build on our shared vision for stability, cooperation and prosperity.
This was highlighted by the Prime Minister Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka while meeting with the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Rt Hon Lord David Cameron in London.
PM Rabuka said that cooperation on climate change, ocean conservation and trade is active” between the two nations.
Additionally, the PM expressed that our strong people-to-people ties are manifested in education, sports and employment.
This is testament to the recruitment since 1961 of Fijians, over 2000 of whom continue to serve in the British Armed Forces.
In 1962, the first 212 Fijians were recruited to serve in the British Armed Forces.
Recruitment resumed in 1997 after Fiji’s readmission to the Commonwealth, many of whom now call the UK home.
Discussions also focused briefly on the Sustainable Development Agenda and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa this October.
Concluding his remarks, the PM highlighted that Fiji will continue to stand up for the international system in the Indo-Pacific region.
He said our largest security threat lies in the prospect of a region which is riven by division, insecurity and instability therefore, contributing to a stable region is Fiji’s highest strategic priority.
“Fiji has traditional friends. The largest contribution Fiji can make to a stable balance in the broader Indo-Pacific is to focus on the challenges of peace and security in our Pacific neighborhood and the best way to do this is by pursuing the objective of an Ocean of Peace in the Pacific”.
