Kiran defends Fiji delegation’s efforts at COP29 amid criticism from Charan Jeath Singh

Assistant Minister for Women Sashi Kiran has highlighted the commitment and tenacity of the Fijian delegation and has paid tribute to those who have stayed away from their families, put up with great discomfort, and worked long hours to ensure that Fiji’s position is maintained during the COP29.

This follows a now-deleted social media post by the Minister for Sugar Industry, Charan Jeath Singh, where he said most of the attendees representing their countries were just wasting time and were a financial burden to their respective nations.

He stated that, in future, we need to send a very lean team of professionals, experts, and negotiators who are objective and can deliver their hard and clear message to COP30 next year.

While questions sent to the Deputy Prime Minister and Fiji delegation lead, Professor Biman Prasad, remain unanswered, Kiran says the Fiji team was poring through the final version of texts at 9pm – Azerbaijan time.

She says our teams have been struggling with long hours, jet lag, battling flu, getting wet, hot, and cold, walking with blisters for distances covered each day, missing meals, yet they keep going.

Kiran notes that there were more than 90 thematic tracks being negotiated.

She explains that developed nations can afford bigger teams who can work in shifts, but our team had to be stretched across each track, running day and night; sitting through negotiations, bilaterals, drafting, and caucusing with our negotiation blocs to gain support.

She adds that it is not easy to be in a global space up against economically powerful developed nations who dominate.

While sharing what each team of Fijian negotiators is doing, Kiran says they now await the final consultations and plenary, after which they will know what the final text reads and how access to finance will be facilitated through the machinery.

She adds that, as elected representatives of the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji, they have a responsibility to ensure they engage in spaces where global decisions are made that will impact our island nation.