NZ input at USP getting bigger
The appointment of Jonathan Curr, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Fiji, could not have come at a better time as the relationship between the University of the South Pacific (USP) and New Zealand has strengthened even further.
Speaking during the first visit by Mr Curr to USP on Monday, Vice-Chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra and President of USP said: “New Zealand has been our partner from the beginning. It is one of the countries that commissioned the initial stages of the study into the formation of this university,” he said.
A major event has been planned by the university as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations in honour of the contributions of the Fiji and New Zealand governments via the joint unveiling of a commemorative monument at the Laucala Campus on March 23 2018, by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, Fiji’s Prime Minister, and Ron Mark, the Minister of Defence, New Zealand.
Professor Chandra noted that the New Zealand Government supported the first years of the operations by leaving valuable buildings and other assets at Laucala Bay, which was a base for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. These he mentioned, have been utilised for many years and some of these are still being used to date.
“New Zealand has been steadfast in supporting USP, in helping govern it through the membership of the Council and the University Grants Committee and our relationship has been extremely constructive and progressive,” Professor Chandra reaffirmed.
He said that New Zealand had been instrumental in the development of the unvesirty’s telecommunications through funding the initial USPNet Satellite and was currently supporting the upgrade of USPNet scheduled for completion this year. “New Zealand has provided support towards the core budget of the University, which has enabled USP to position itself well to serve the Pacific region with ICT, research, and regionalism becoming the transformative strategy for the University,” he said. Professor Chandra highlighted that USP considers New Zealand government’s $NZ5.6 million ($F8.31 million) towards the USPNet upgrade as an excellent contribution to mark USP’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Professor Chandra warmly welcomed Mr Curr, congratulated him on his new appointment as high commissioner and wished him well.
Professor Chandra said that USP had excellent relations with Mr Curr’s predecessor, Mark Ramsden, during his term in Suva, and described the latter as a “proactive and effective ambassador for USP”.
He affirmed that USP has excellent relations with officials from the New Zealand High Commission in Suva and in Wellington.
“I also wish to congratulate the New Zealand Government and look forward to working closely with you and your team and the officials in Wellington,” he said.
Mr Curr was also informed that USP has officially engaged with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) through the bilateral High Level Consultations (HLC) in Wellington every year and later in the year through the tripartite HLC, including Australia.
He said there was an upcoming High Level Consultation in Wellington scheduled for April 16, 2018 and USP looked forward to more fruitful discussions at this bilateral meeting. Source: USP