HON. JOSAIA VOREQE BAINIMARAMA

PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI

TALKING POINTS

MEETING WITH CO-PRESIDENT, ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY, HON. LOUIS MICHEL

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Office of the JPA Co-President 23rdNov.,2015

Brussels, BELGIUM 1130 Hours

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Welcome

[All welcome protocols observed]

[Hon. PM to lead]

  1. Co-President, firstly, let me express myappreciation to you for the warm welcome and for making time to meet me at short notice.
  1. It was indeed an honour and privilege for Fiji to host the 29thJPA in June this year and we are most grateful for your personal support which contributed to the overall success of this unique event in the context of the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement.
  1. We are now an active member of the JPA and wish to continue to do so in the future. In this context, I wish to inform that our representative on the JPA, Hon. Sanjit Patel recently resigned for personal reasons, and he has been replaced by Hon. Ashneel Sudhakar.
  1. I have just met Commissioner Mimica and had an exchange of views on wide ranging issues and would like to provide a brief update to you on the developments since we met in Fiji in June. We have a number of key issues on our agenda today and I look forward to engaging in fruitful discussions towards the strengthening of Fiji-EU relations at both the bilateral and multilateral levels.
  1. ILO Update
  2. Co- President, just two weeks ago, I opened our annual Prime Minister’s Exporter of the Year Awards where I again underscored the need for the Government, Unions and employers to work with each other for the benefit of Fiji’s growing economy, the socio-economic development and welfare of Fiji’s working population, regardless of whether or not they belong to a trade union,and increasing the business confidence of the private sector.
  1. Fiji’s 2016 Budget announcement was done only a few days earlier,which introduces new incentives for both employers and workers. One of the incentives is the reduction of Value Added Tax from 15% to 9%. This is against the positive background of my Government’s policy to widen the net of beneficiaries with exempted income tax status. We haveincreased the salary bracket for zero income tax from F$8,840 in 2006 to F$16,000 in 2015, increasing the disposal income of the poorest workers in Fiji by putting more net income directly into their pockets.
  1. On the Commission of Inquiry, the Government is constantly walking a tight rope with this balancing act for all stakeholders and I am pleased that the ILO Governing Board has decided to defer this decision to [March] next year. We have now carefully averted a potential major disaster on Fiji’s economy, some damages of which may even be irreversible. That is something that we cannot allow to happen. Unfortunately, it is not the representatives who are creating a lot of noise on these issues that will suffer from the sanctions that will follow a Commission of Inquiry, but the low to semi-skilled workers whom theyrepresent and are claiming to protect.Most of those workers, of course,are our Fijian women - mothers and sole breadwinners of many poor families around Fiji who are currently employed in the Garment and Tourism Industry.
  1. Co-President, we are aware that we’re not out of the woods yet. The good news is that the Fijian Government is committed to constructive dialogue with the trade unions and employers representatives. We have always maintained that stance. Lately, we have increased the membership of the Employment Relations Advisory Board (ERAB) to 10 members each for Government, Unions and Employers. We hope that in making the membership more inclusive, no individual or elite group of individuals’ hidden agenda is allowed to make a mockery of this process by holding the nation to ransom with their rigid demands and colorful fabrications.
  1. Fiji, and indeed the world, is at an important crossroad in history, with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development now in place and COP21 due to begin this month in Paris. If you take a closer look at what my Government is trying to achieve for the average person in Fiji, I am sure you will see that we are building bridges, rather than tearing them down. Our economic policies have been successful in growing the Fijian economy by 5.3% in 2014; a momentum that we prefer not to be derailed by a Commission of Inquiry.
  1. We are working on empowering individuals and communities. If there may be instances where the Government appears to be favoring the private sector on the one hand, or the workers on the other, it is only because this is part of the complex balancing act that we have to do. In the end, it is the working men and women and their families that will benefit in the long run. This is ultimately our objective as a government – to eradicate extreme poverty in all its forms by 2030.

Post-2020 ACP-EU Partnership

1.Co-President, on the post-2020 ACP-EU Partnership, I am of the view that both the EU and the ACP have not seen their best days yet. By the expiry date of the Cotonou Agreement in 2020, both sides would be in a much better position to assess the global and regional dynamics to be able to determine for themselves what the best options would be, going forward.

2. At this point in time, I believe it would be wise not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.There are emerging or potential developments in all the ACP sub regions,including the EUthat remains untapped within the exclusive remits of the ACP-EU partnership. The Commonwealth of Nations has a similar agenda at the CHOGM in Malta. We need to inject new blood into the ebbing life-form of this partnership; visionary young leaders who are ready and willing, not just to think, but to step outside of the box to take the ACP-EU partnership to the next level. We will need another ‘internet revolution’ to make this partnership work post-2020.

Climate Change, COP21

  1. Co-President, at the opening session of the ACP JPA, I highlighted the EU as a credible development partner of the region in the area of climate change. In walking the talk on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and being true global champions for our small and vulnerable economies on climate change.
  1. At the 3rd Pacific Islands Development Forum in September this year, Pacific Leaders agreed on the Suva Declaration on Climate Change which is a powerful SOS statement to the world on their indifference to our plight.
  1. Fiji has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.This does not mean, however, that we will not be ambitious to go above this threshold, if we are provided the necessary institutional, technical and financial resources to do so. As nations at the frontline of the global fight against climate change, we understand the positive dynamics between sustainable development and a secure and healthy future for our future generations. We have joined about 156 other countries around the world when we submitted our Intended Nationally Determined Contribution or INDC on 5 November through the normal process. This can be accessed through the UNFCCC website.
  1. Our digital mapping program of communities which are most vulnerable to climate change is an ongoing success and we wish to thank the EU for your continued support in this area. Ironically, climate change has forever altered the way we do things as a government in Fiji – in a good way. Never before havewe proactively engaged the rural communities and other non-state actors on a large scale as we collectively rally together to address this global threat. We have conducted awareness campaigns in both rural and urban communities, including the traditional and social media outlets.
  1. Co-President, at COP21, we are assured of Europe’s strong support to small island developing countries as we take up this ‘fight’ to Paris next week.

Accompanying Measures Support Programme for Sugar Protocol Countries

  1. Co-President, I am fully aware of the key role you played in your capacity as the Development Commissioner in the securing of the Accompanying Measures Support Programme (AMSP) for Sugar Protocol countries.
  1. We are pleased that the sum of around Euro 60 Million has been restored under the AMSP, which is designed to improve the livelihoods of the sugar cane farming communities and their dependents.
  1. We know of the European Parliaments, especially the Committee on Development, in ensuring the optimal use of the funds allocated. We are concerned with the slow rate of disbursements of the funds allocated, which could lead to de-commitment as we approach the end date.
  1. To date, we have made steady progress in terms of implementation of the various initiatives in the sugar sector. Your support has contributed positively and I believe that it will be a pity if we allowed funds to be unutilized at this critical time.
  1. I recognize thatwe need to put forward projects that are contractually and legally feasible and we will work closely with our stakeholders in this critical area.

ACP Sugar Research Programme

  1. There was consensus for setting up of a second phase of the sugar research programme that will build on the achievements and lessons learned of the first phase. This was deemed important for the continued development, modernization and sustainability of the cane industry across the ACP countries.
  1. Fiji along with its ACP colleagues will be working on this and I seek your support for the second phase of the Sugar Research Programme after the positive resultsachieved in the first phase of implementation.

Concluding remarks

  1. I would like once again express my appreciation for this meeting and assure Fiji’s full support and active participation in the work of the JPA to address many of the challenges we face as a small island developing state.
  1. Thank you very much Commissioner for this opportunity.

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