US wants dialogue/partnership with Fiji

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told Fiji's Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola that the US wants dialogue and partnership with Fiji.

The Ministry of Information confirmed that Ratu Inoke along with Senior Pacific Island leaders met with Clinton for 75 minutes in New York earlier today.

Clinton assured Ratu Inoke and the senior Pacific Islands' Leaders that the US was committed to working closely with Fiji and the Pacific Islands.

Ratu Inoke explained to Clinton Fiji's Strategic Framework for Change, the welcome reopening of the US AID office in Suva and greater national attention to combating human trafficking and intellectual property rights infringements following which Secretary Clinton said the US wanted dialogue with Fiji and beyond to support partnership.

She also paid tribute to the commitment to global security by Tonga in the Solomon Islands, Fiji in Iraq and Sinai, and Vanuatu in Timor Leste.

Assistant Secretary of State Asia-Pacific Kurt Campbell, who had attended the Vanuatu post-Forum dialogue in early August told the meeting that the dialogue going forward was based on the profound recognition of Fiji's central role in Pacific matters.

The Pacific delegations expressed great satisfaction at the meeting that the US Secretary of State was committed to, and that the US was now demonstrating, a higher level of involvement after many years.    

Story by: Roneel Lal