Prof. Prasad meets with India's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Professor Biman Prasad has met India's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri in Bangaluru.

Professor Prasad congratulated Puri for successfully hosting the first ever India Energy Week with a focus on decarbonisation and transition to clean energy economy.

Discussions focused on how India can support Fiji in its energy transition with the transfer of technology to improve energy efficiency, develop more renewal energy sources and build climate smart infrastructure.

Puri also assured India's support towards the housing sector with a focus on smart low cost construction technology and potential involvement of the Indian private sector in any future Housing Public Private Partnership Projects in Fiji.

Professor Prasad also participated in a high level Ministerial Session on "Strategies for a sustainable and decarbonised future".

During the discussions, he highlighted the urgent need for global action on decarbonisation if the world is to genuinely fight issues like climate change which is having devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of people in small developing island counties like Fiji.

He also called upon the developed world to support affordable technology transfer in assisting countries with smooth and economically feasible energy transition.

The Finance Minister was joined by Lyonpo Loknath Sharma, Minister for Economic Affairs, Bhutan, January Yusuf Makamba, Minister for Energy, Tanzania, Dr Tawfiq e-Elahi Chowdhury, Bir Bikram, Advisor (Minister) to the Prime Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Affairs, Bangladesh and Dr. Ana Fontoura Gouveia, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate of Portugal.

Professor Prasad will be traveling to Delhi today and will have a number of high level bilateral engagements with the Indian External Affairs Minister Honourable Dr. S. Jaishankar and Minister of State for External Affairs Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh.

He is also expected to meet the Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman.