Honourable JosaiaVoreqe Bainimarama, CF(Mil),OSt.J, MSD, jssc, psc
Prime Minister of Fiji and Minister for iTaukei Affairs and Sugar Industry
SPEAKING NOTES FOR BILATERAL MEETING WITH INDIAN PRIME MINISTER, HON. NARENDRA MODI
Jaipur 22nd Aug., 2015
INDIA
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The Indian Prime Minister opens the meeting and the Fijian Prime Minister responds:
Excellency,
Thank you for your words of welcome. And I very much appreciate the opportunity to conduct this bilateral meeting with you before the India-Pacific Islands Cooperation Forum this evening.
First of all, allow me to convey to you the warmest greetings of the Fijian Government and Fijian people. And to thank you and your Government for the wonderful hospitality shown to our delegation during this visit.
We have the fondest memories of your own visit to Fiji last year in which you made a great impression on our people and strengthened our already close relationship. And it is a great privilege for me to be able to see you again here in India – a nation Fiji holds in the highest esteem and affection.
The historical link between us is well known and unique in the Pacific. Which is why India will always have a special place in the hearts of the Fijian people.
As the world’s largest democracy, we also look to India for inspiration as we forge our new democracy – the first genuine democracy in Fijian history of equal votes and equal value. And we deeply appreciated India’s lead role in the multi-national observer group that declared our election credible and free almost a year ago.
We also look to India for leadership in the world to promote our shared values. As a major power with an ever increasing reach – including its credentials of providing professional UN peacekeepers like Fiji - India deserves a much bigger role in global affairs. Which is why Fiji strongly supports India’s bid to become a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council.
With your population, your influence and the principles India espouses, we believe you thoroughly deserve a place at the table with the other great nations that are already Permanent Members. Fiji wants to see greater weight given to the concerns of developing countries in the deliberations of the Security Council. And we believe India can play an important role in giving us all more of a voice – as well as being a bridge between the South and the developed nations that make up most of the permanent membership.
Excellency, I invite you to respond to these comments:
The Indian Prime Minister responds.
Excellency, as well as looking to India’s leadership in the world, Fiji wants to significantly expand our bilateral ties. To strengthen the links of camaraderie and friendship that have always been at the core of our relationship.
Your transformation into a modern nation state and global power is due in large part to the energy and innovation of the Indian people. And Fiji seeks to tap that energy and innovation to help fulfill the ambitions we have for our own nation. To work in partnership with India to improve the lives of every Fijianand also play a greater role in our region and the world.
- To become a clever country through the education of our people, which includes the free schooling we have introduced for the first time and the development of a vibrant tertiary sector. We must now move on to research and innovation.
- To be a leader in telecommunications and uptake of new technology among the island nations, with the most advanced infrastructure and a thriving manufacturing and service sector. To work smarter and efficiently.
- To cement our place as the hub of the Pacific and to reach out to our island neighbours and also assist their development through the provision of advanced education and healthcare.
- To adopt world’s best practice in all areas of our national development, whether it is in agriculture or the implementation of labour and environmental standards.
- To be regarded as the pre-eminent island nation and set an example of good governance in our region, while fighting corruption and the scourge of drug and people trafficking.
- To lead the struggle for resilience in our region against climate change and the rising sea levels and extreme weather events caused by global warming.
- And to be a model global citizen – to step up our contributions to UN peacekeeping, work with our friends in multilateral forums for the common good and stand up for substantive justice for ordinary people the world over.
Excellency, broadly these are thevalues we stand for in Fijias a leading Pacific nation – values I am convinced our two nations share. And we ask not only for India’s support as we pursue those values but to work with us in partnership to achieve our development objectives.
I will never forget what you said to me during your visit to Fiji about how you won office by running on a platform of development and empowerment. I take pride in having done the same thing in Fiji – winning office on a pledge to deliver and to serve. Matching rhetoric with action. So we have a great deal in common as individuals and as Governments.
Excellency, I invite you to respond before I seek your indulgence to outline a number of specific areas of potential cooperation on a bi-lateral basis.
Indian Prime Minister speaks.
Excellency,
Let me briefly summarise those areas in which Fiji is seeking assistance from India or those avenues of cooperation we have identified ourselves.
1/ Firstly, Fiji seeks to offer full medical tertiary care facilities including complex surgeries such as heart and kidney transplants.
In this respect, we propose that the best possible option is to have an internationally accredited Indian private hospital such as Apollo Hospital, with whom we’ve had some preliminary discussions; being encouraged to commence operations by way of equity and management participation.
However, in order to entice such hospitals, the Government of India also becomes a partner in such a venture by way of equity participation which it could sell down later. Alternatively, the Indian Government could provide a capital grant to fully equip such a hospital. If the Government of India participates in such a manner, then my Government could also contribute by way of equity participation and we also undertake to give the land needed to construct such a hospital.
Prime Minister, I cannot overemphasis how critically important such a medical facility is to my country. It would provide assistance on a daily basis to hundreds of thousands of Fijians, save on our foreign reserves and give us the ability to provide medical care not just to Fijians alone but other Pacific Islanders. Participation in such a venture, would built insurmountable goodwill. It would also further attract investment in the tourism sector such as retirement villages and provide employment in the services sector in particular for our younger generation.
Fiji already has the only regional medical school in the South Pacific. But we lack tertiary care facilities and many of our people die from conditions that are readily treatable in the hospitals of our bigger neighbours or alternatively, they have to travel long distances away from their loved ones and homes. Prime Minister, this one area I am emotionally attached to.
Prime Minister we also request that your Government perhaps through a public private partnership consider setting up a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Fiji. India’s expertise in this area is renowned throughout the world. And Fiji already has a facility to store pharmaceutical products built by a Japanese company. Again, we can be a hub for the manufacture of pharmaceutical drugs for the entire region.In this respect, Fiji also intends to recognise the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, your institution which sets standards for all drugs that are manufactured, sold and consumed in India. To date, this recognition has not been given. I give you this undertaking today.
2/ Excellency, We also seek to strengthen our defence cooperation by inviting India to assist us in the relocation of our naval base. With your strong naval fleet and large coastline, we have much to learn from the Indian Navy both in operational terms and in the security and protection of our territorial waters. This will also benefit the cooperation between our two navies in operational and infrastructure terms. This would also benefit the other Pacific Island countries. Fiji also wants to map its ocean floor and seeks to tap India’s considerable experience in hydrographic surveying.
We deeply appreciate the training courses India is already offering our military personnel but seek to take this engagement to the next level - our forces working together to share expertise and develop military infrastructure and equipment.
3/ Excellency, Fiji is greatly inspired by the huge advances India has made over recent decades in agriculture. We seek assistance not only for the transformation of small- scale agriculture to world’s best practice but to develop large scale food production. With our large tracts of rich, arable land, Fiji should be a major food exporter. But far too much of our food is imported and developing our food security is an important national priority.
We seek Indian technical know-how in agriculture, assistance in developing our cadre of field and research officers and also the provision of farm implements and equipment. Again this could be facilitated through a public private partnership arrangement. We also seek collaboration with the Indian dairy industry to enhance our capacity in milk production.
4/ Excellency, our agricultural sector and our entire economy is regularly beset by natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods.And building resilience against these events is another national priority. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe in the Pacific because of climate change. And while tackling the causes of that change requires a global response and is beyond Fiji’s control, we can control our responses to the extreme weather events they are causing.
In the last great hurricane in Fiji - Cyclone Evan nearly three years ago – good planning meant that we were spared its full force. In stark contrast to some of our neighbours, not a single Fijian life was lost. But we seek India’s assistance to bolster our disaster management effort even further. You have vast experience in this area and we seek to learn from that experience.
5/ Excellency, in this context, I want to thank India for the encouraging statements made yesterday by His Excellency your President about India’s position on climate change. This is by far the greatest challenge we face in the Pacific and we desperately need the world to stand with us to ensure our resilience and survival.
6/ Excellency, the last major area I would like to canvass with you is trade and infrastructure development. First of all, we are very keen for India to send a composite trade delegation to Fiji to examine ways in which trade and investment can be expanded between our two countries. We believe there are significant opportunities for Indian companies in Fiji. As your Excellency would be aware, we already have a double taxation agreement between our two countries.
There are certainly opportunities for Indian companies in the Information, Technology and Telecommunications sector in Fiji. For instance, we have the advantage of a well-educated workforce that speaks English with a neutral accent when it comes to the manning of call centres. As well as a time zone in Fiji on the 180th meridian that is very convenient for North American markets as well as those in the rest of the Asia Pacific.
Excellency, the FijianGovernment is in the process of divesting shares in some of its State Owned Enterprises and outsourcing some of its current functions. These present opportunities for Indian companies. There are also prospects for Indian construction companies given our capital investment in infrastructure. These opportunities would not only help Indian companies to gain lucrative footholds in Fiji but to use Fiji to springboard to other markets in the Pacific region.
We also seek India’s assistance and partnership in the development of renewable energy. Fiji is using tax incentives to encourage the use of renewable energy in both the public and private sectors. And we see great opportunities to work with India in this area, in which you have made huge strides in recent years, especially in the use of solar power. In this respect, we also seek assistance of your energy experts to carry out a broad and detailed study of our energy requirements and viable alternatives to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.
Excellency, those are just some of the keys areas in which Fiji would like to strengthen its relationship with India.
Your Excellency, like you, I have faced a number of challenges in government through the slow implementation of projects and or lack of commitment by the bureaucrats. These include some of the assistance you offered during your visit to Fiji last year. For this, I sincerely apologise. And I assure you that my Government intends to resolve these bureaucratic impediments as soon as possible.
To this end, I suggest that Fiji and India set up a specific dedicated team to co-ordinate the rapid implementation of these initiatives. The Fijian team will be coordinated through our National Planning Department in the Ministry of Finance and which will work closely with your dedicated team directly throughour High Commission in New Delhi.
Excellency, I seek your comment on these proposals.
Indian Prime Minister speaks
Thank you Excellency for those comments. And once again, please accept my warmest appreciation for taking the time to meet me for this bilateral discussion.
I very much look forward to our wider meeting with the other Pacific leaders this evening. And can I again say what a privilege it is to be in Jaipur and how much we are all enjoying our visit to India and our chance to engage with the Indian people.
Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.
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