Fiji has acknowledged the relationship under the Duavata Partnership, through which New Zealand has supported Fiji on economic resilience, security, and community well-being.
This has been highlighted by the Fiji's Chief of Protocol, Kiti Temo while delivering a speech at the Waitangi Day celebrations in Suva tonight.
Temo says Fiji and New Zealand are old friends and this year marks 55 years of formative diplomatic relationship and is founded in a common relationship and mutual understanding and shared prosperity.
President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, Acting Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad, cabinet ministers, and members of the diplomatic corp were present at the celebrations.
New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Fiji, Charlotte Darlow says Waitangi Day is also a day to celebrate the taonga that is Te Ao Mãori and the richness that comes from a deeper understanding of traditional protocols.
Darlow says they are blessed that their national celebration reminds them that by celebrating their heritage, it keeps their culture, stories, and traditions alive for their generations.
Today also marked the 185th anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand.
