The leaders and delegates of the 11 Pacific island countries attending the Engaging with the Pacific meeting in Nadi have reaffirmed that Fiji’s Strategic Framework for Change is a credible home-grown process for positioning Fiji as a modern nation and to hold parliamentary elections.
According to the framework, Fiji has laid out the plan that it will start off work on a new constitution from next year.
The new constitution will be ready in 2013 and then one year will be used to create awareness on the constitution and the new voting system.
Elections are scheduled to be held in September 2014.
The leaders and delegates attending the meeting in Nadi have also recalled the importance of Fiji’s continuous engagement with the region and its full participation in regional development initiatives and programmes.
The countries that have signed the communiqué are Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Marshall Islands, Timor Leste, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Nauru.
According to the communiqué, the leaders have recognized the progress in the implementation of the Roadmap to Democracy and sustainable socio-economic development in accordance with the timelines outlined in the Strategic Framework for Change.
The leaders have also supported the need to publicize and disseminate more and accurate information on the Fiji government’s progress.
The next Engaging with the Pacific meeting will be hosted by Fiji again next year.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
Feature
11 Pacific countries support Fiji’s roadmap
