Improving Fiji’s health service delivery, climate resilience building and improving the quality of contractors for the infrastructure projects are a few of the main factors that the Deputy Prime Minister, Professor Biman Prasad sought assistance from the Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy.
Professor Prasad says assistance toward public-private partnerships, affordable housing projects and improving the conditions, especially having a good pension scheme for the workers under the PALM scheme will benefit many in the country.
Professor Prasad is also seeking assistance from the Australian government in building more schools and constructing additional classrooms for schools in the greater Suva-Nausori area as the population has grown drastically in these areas and capacity in classrooms is a big issue that needs urgent attention.
He also emphasized that Fiji believes in regional solidarity which is the only way to address new challenges in the region like strategic competition, climate change and solutions to our unique challenges of smallness, geographical distance from major markets and narrow economic base and said that moving forward there is a need for deep and meaningful regional integration.
The Deputy Prime Minister also provided an update on Fiji’s economic progress in the last 9 months, after a strong 20 per cent growth last year and a further 8 per cent projected for this year.
Prof. Biman adds that the tourism industry has rebounded very strongly with visitor arrivals returning to 2019 levels.
Prof. Prasad also highlighted the need for development partners to focus on investment in regional public goods with widespread benefits for the Pacific people.
He adds the Fijian government is looking forward to working with the Australian government and development partners on the new Suva Port development project for which a feasibility study is currently being finalized.
