Opposition Leader for the Group of 16, Inia Seruiratu and Leader of the Group of 9, Ioane Naivalurua have shown their support for Fiji’s Foreign Policy White Paper which outlines the path that Fiji will follow to meet the complex foreign policy landscape and its challenges that we face as a nation.
While delivering his ministerial statement in Parliament, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the White Paper explains how Fiji sees itself and how we wish to present ourselves to the world.
He says it also outlines government foreign policy initiatives, including the promotion of the Pacific as an Ocean of Peace, which is the single most significant contribution that Fiji can make or has made to peace and security in our neighbourhood and the broader Indo-Pacific region.
He says the policy also reaffirms the central position of the Pacific region in our foreign policy calculations, and that in all we do, we will put the Pacific family first.
He says it forms the foundation of the government's strategy to advance Fiji's strategic and economic interests and strengthen its social cohesion and it builds on the three interconnecting themes of Fiji's foreign policy – sovereignty, security and prosperity.
While congratulating the Government on the development of the White Paper, Seruiratu says the White Paper states that there is no distinction between bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, but geography, history and values, inevitability, shape, texture and priorities of our bilateral relationships, our relationships with fellow members of the Pacific Islands Forum are, for example, of a different order to our relationships with the countries outside the Pacific region.
He has cautioned the Prime Minister and says that he is well aware of the incidents of 1987 and 2006 where we went North because our traditional partners had issues with us.
Seruiratu further says it's not only about our defence setup, but we are looking at the brain drain, issues of governance and our industrial, economic, logistical research and educational capabilities and these are requirements for us in order to achieve our strategic sovereignty and of course includes safety and health, defence, well-being, food security, energy, key material supplies, infrastructure security and environmental sustainability are all dependent on development partners and foreigners.
He has assured the Prime Minister and all Fijians that the Group of 16 in the Opposition will always work together in the common interest for Fiji if this document, the defence policy that they are waiting for and the National Development Plan will be important for Fiji in terms of the way forward.
Naivalarua says the White Paper articulates very clearly the areas that we should focus on given the huge challenge ahead of us.
He says our ability to thread together key guiding documents for our nation, including the White Paper, the National Development Plan and the Security and Defence Review are critical documents that will help us to give us a better understanding in how we relate with the world and how things that we engage with and the ability to identify what we should do first and what comes second in order of priorities given our limited resources that we have.
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