FIJI TIES WITH CHINA, PACIfiC STRONGER
Hon. Ravu spoke at the China-Pacific Island Countries Forum on Fisheries Cooperation and Development on May 10, 2023, in Nanjing, China.
Mr. Ma Youxiang, ViceMinister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China; Mr. Wang Hui, Vice-Governor of Jiangsu Provincial Government; Mr. Sui Pengfei, the Moderator and Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of MARA; Excellencies,
Ni Hao and a very good morning to you all.
It is my privilege to address this inaugural 2023 China-Pacific Island Countries Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers Meeting here in the beautiful, scenic historical city of Nanjing.
At the outset, I convey my delegation’s appreciation for the warm reception we have received since we arrived in your beautiful city, xie xie.
Excellencies, our fisheries, coastal, offshore and aquaculture, contribute over US$4 billion to economies in the Pacific Islands region. The contribution of coastal fisheries to the subsistence and livelihoods of Pacific Island communities has been estimated at US$400 million, but it is understandably difficult to quantify the true value because of our overwhelming reliance on fisheries.
Fiji and the Pacific are large oceanic states. Although we are “Small Island Developing States,” we are stewards and custodians of the largest water mass on the planet. With a surface area of more than 155 million square kilometres (60 million square miles).
With rights and custodianship over resources comes responsibility. As coastal states, we continue to
work with other states to achieve long-term sustainability for our resources so that our future generations may also benefit. Excellencies, China has been a steadfast ally and supporter of our Pacific Island nations, and we value the assistance China continues to provide through the various country-to-country platforms we engage through.
Fiji continues to uphold its commitment to the One China Policy, and our bilateral relations over the last 48 years have yielded many tangible outcomes across various platforms that have greatly benefited our people.
China’s assistance has been valuable in establishing platforms such as the Pacific Islands Development Forum, among other key bilateral cooperation platforms.
This Forum on Fisheries Cooperation and Development is a testament to the longstanding cooperation we have with China, and that is through our fisheries sector. Fundamental to our quest for long-term sustainability is the need to promote a balance between our development of the fisheries, our support for the sustainability of the resources, and the interests of our communities.
In 2019, we convened talks in
Nadi, where the inaugural ChinaPacific Island Countries Agriculture Ministers Meeting was held and the Nadi Declaration of China and Pacific Island Countries on Agricultural Development was adopted, and the same meeting stressed the importance of fisheries cooperation.
In 2021, through COVID-19, we convened the China-PICs Fisheries Policy Promotion and Cooperation Seminar, where we examined fisheries policy promotion by PICs and the 2021 Guangzhou Consensus of the First China-Pacific Island Countries Forum on Fisheries Cooperation and Development noted the vast potential for cooperation that China and PICS enjoy and that your country is ready to work with PICS to forge closer relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
In our efforts to build and strengthen our cooperation, we will continue to work with you to explore new heights that will progress the full recognition of our domestic development aspirations. With the ongoing challenge of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing worldwide, we are calling for collective action to tackle the human elements of IUU fishing, including: safeguarding observer safety and livelihoods, ensuring safe and decent labour conditions for crew, and unveiling the persons of interest behind IUU fishing.
Recognising the diversity of issues confronting us, we are reforming and reshaping our regional architecture to respond better to our needs.
Platforms and mechanisms have been created to leverage, amongst others, the knowledge and expertise of academia, the private sector, Civil Society Organisation and Non-Government Organisations. Guided by the 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continent and the Regional Fisheries Roadmap, we are committed to ensuring the longterm sustainability and economic viability of the Blue Pacific’s fisheries resources. We hope that this forum can align accordingly with existing regional mechanisms working towards the same goal of sustainable fisheries development. In concluding, I reiterate that the ocean is in our blood. It is our identity, and individually and collectively, the ocean will always be our permanent interest.
Thank you, Vinaka Vakalevu and Xie Xie.
Source: Ministry of Fisheries and Forestry