“We are leaving old disagreements in the past where they belong and are writing a new chapter in our partnership, putting Fiji and Australia in a position to take this cooperation to historic heights.”
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama stressed this in his address at the official opening of the Fiji Consulate General Office in Sydney last night.
Bainimarama says the newly relocated Fijian Consulate and Trade Commission Office is now placed in the heart of Sydney’s Central Business District.
He says the single greatest driver of the resurgent relationship has been the friendship and affinity shared between the Australian and Fijian people, a friendship that stretches back to the very start of Fiji’s independent history and long before.
Bainimarama says he looks forward to forming a close relationship with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to continue to strengthen the bilateral partnership on the basis of fairness and mutual respect.
He says Fiji remains a favoured destination for Australian tourists, with tourism earnings from the Australian market achieving a historic high last year of nearly $1 billion.
Bainimarama says he is proud that Fiji and Australia’s two‑way trade, now at around $1.12 billion a year, has been driven by a 4% increase in Fijian exports to the Australian market, as new Fijian products and businesses are expanding their reach throughout the region.
