Grappling with reality
PRIME Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says “we are vulnerable to external shocks and commodity price hikes”.
In his opening remarks at the official opening of the International Monetary Fund high-level meeting in Nadi, the Prime Minister told delegates the aftermath of the destructive pandemic period was still with us.
“I know that development is a critical part of your conference agenda,” the PM said.
“Those of us in positions of national leadership grapple everyday with the continuing impact of climate change, and the challenges of economic growth compounded by our smallness.
“There is the necessity for more investment and jobs; improved wages; higher productivity and competitiveness; reducing poverty; and creating better infrastructure and services.”
Mr Rabuka said the Pacific — its islands and atolls — had been exposed to global conflict and catastrophe.
This, he said, involved the complex implications of big power geo-political rivalry in our region, the impact of armed conflict far beyond, coupled with simmering tensions with potential for havoc and mass destruction.
“Perhaps my feelings were intensified through my own missions as a peacekeeper in strifetorn places,” he said.
“As Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of the Fiji Infantry Regiment serving with the UN in Lebanon, I lost four brave and loyal soldiers. I remember their deaths like yesterday.
“World War II ended 78 years ago. It was devastating. The fighting and terror came right into the quietness of our Pacific. It triggered battles with massive loss of life.”
Mr Rabuka said strife among nations was on the rise again and the situation has worsened.
“I believe it’s true to say there is a sense of insecurity throughout the planet. What all of us now require — and I mean all of us — is a deluge of peace, a torrent of it, as an antidote to war. The people of the world can make this happen,” Mr Rabuka added.
“The very word peace is filled with power and meaning that inspires and lifts. Peace leads to communities of compassion, care and charity. It nurtures prosperity - the theme of this conference.
“I could see there was an Ocean of Peace waiting to be born in a world wounded and threatened by war. This new feature on the face of the earth would occupy more than 32 million square kilometres of the South Pacific.”