Education, development key areas: Lambert

Education, development and marine security are some of the key areas discussed during Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Lambert’s two days tour in Fiji.

Mr Lambert of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs arrived in Fiji on June 6 and departed yesterday.

Being first visit to Suva, his aim was to talk to Fijian leaders and hear their priorities for what was needed to be done in the Pacific.

“I had a number of meetings with key Fijian leaders including the Attorney-General and we talked at length about Fiji joining the IndoPacific economic framework,” he said.

“We’re very pleased to have Fiji as a charter member of this organisation and we look forward to input from Fijians about how this new multilateral mechanism will work to hopefully expand prosperity for a number of us in the region.

“We are committed to deepening our relationship with your country and we’re committed to deepening our relationship with the countries in the region.

“But to do that effectively, we need to talk to people, we need to listen to you, we need to understand what your priorities are and what your concerns are.”

Mr Lambert said he heard a lot about the desire for greater training and education.

“There are things that we can do with the University of the South Pacific (USP) that could help make it even more of a regional hub than it is,” he said.

“I’ve heard a plea not just to provide that training in the United States but maybe bring trainers to Fiji so that we can be more accessible for a larger number of people.”

He said one of the things they were trying to do more intelligently was working with countries like Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union.

He said safeguarding marine stocks was also an important topic discussed. Mr Lambert would also visit New Zealand and Australia to talk to different officials about things that they can do.