Fiji, USA Reaffirm Regional Cooperation
Advancing regional cooperation and Pacific solidarity is of utmost importance for the strategic partnership between Fiji and the United States.
This was emphasised at a courtesy call to the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs, Yogesh Karan, from the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Mark Baxter Lambert, on Tuesday.
On behalf of Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, Mr Karan formally welcomed and thanked Mr Lambert for his first official visit to Fiji, which builds the momentum of Fiji-United States cordial relations, reinforced through Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s recent visit to Fiji.
Mr Karan said Fiji looked forward to further cooperation with the U.S. through the Indo-Pacific Economic Partnership and Maritime Domain Awareness initiatives; partnership in the areas of humanitarian service, climate and oceans, disaster risk resilience, defence and security, trade and investment, economic recovery, amongst others.
Both sides agreed to continue consultations for the realisation of shared priorities in areas of climate change and oceans, defence and security, economic prosperity, trade and investment and building disaster risk resilience, amongst others.
Fiji welcomes the regular visits of the U.S. High level officials, which strengthens cooperation on issues of importance to Fiji and the region.
Mr Karan also took the opportunity to update Mr Lambert on the upcoming Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting scheduled next month from July 12 to 14, 2022.
He thanked the United States support to the Pacific family and he urged for greater cooperation in building a sustainable, inclusive and resilient Blue Pacific.
In response, Mr Lambert thanked Mr Karan for the opportunity to meet in person and the discussions they had would further strengthen Fiji-U.S. relations.
“I appreciated the chance to meet with Permanent Secretary Karan to discuss U.S.-Fiji shared foreign policy priorities and how we can partner to tackle challenges like the climate crisis, as well as to promote a peaceful, safe, and prosperous Pacific. I also thanked him for Fiji’s principled condemnation of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Mr Lambert said.