‘THERE IS A NEED TO DEEPEN TIES BETWEEN FIJI AND FINLAND’
‘FINLAND SEEKS ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH FIJI AND WAS INTERESTED IN PROVIDING SUPPORT...’ Fijian Government in partnership with its development partners like Finland was aspiring to build back better from global challenges mainly climate change and COVID-
There is a need to deepen Fiji – Finland relationship, says new non-resident Ambassador of Finland to Fiji, Satu Mattila-Budich.
On Friday Ms Mattila-Budich accompanied the European Union Ambassador to Fiji and for the Pacific, Sujiro Seam, for a tour at the Blackrock Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief Camp in Nadi.
Ambassador Mattila-Budich’s said Fiji and Finland had the same values and they appreciated the support Fiji was giving to peacekeeping and the United Nations.
“We really need to find ways to deepen our relationship as we have a very friendly relationship. To deepen our political and economic relations and also to find some development partnerships which we can do it bilateral and we can do that also with the EU,” she said.
Courtesy call
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary (PS) for the office of the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs, Yogesh Karan also received a courtesy call from the Ambassador Mattila-Budich on Wednesday.
“Fiji looks forward to expanding the scope of our bilateral engagement with Finland in areas of shared priorities,” said Mr Karan.
He said the Fijian Government in partnership with its development partners like Finland was aspiring to build back better from global challenges, mainly climate change and COVID-19 pandemic.
The two nation’s cooperation at the multilateral level through UN Peacekeeping was also acknowledged at the meeting.
Mr Karan reaffirmed Fiji’s solidarity with the EU and Finland in supporting the UN resolutions opposing Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.
He said despite Fiji’s vast distance from Europe, the socioeconomic impacts of the conflict was felt globally and here in Fiji. It has prompted various stakeholders to collectively address these challenges and efforts are being made to minimise the impact on livelihoods.
Mr Karan conveyed Fiji’s request on the timely processing of Schengen Visa for Fijian citizens who travel to Europe and the opportunities it would present for the tourism industry.
He thanked Ambassador Budich for her visit to Fiji, which paved the way to strengthened ongoing cooperation between Fiji, EU and Finland.
In response, Ambassador Budich said Finland seeks economic cooperation with Fiji and was interested in providing support for local projects and development sectors.