Embassy safety raised

THE responsibility of Fijian embassies abroad, including the safety of staff, has been moved from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to the Ministry of Economy.

This according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy secretary Esala Nayasi.

He said there was a proposal to sell the properties they owned in Wellington, Brussels and Australia, but they had opted otherwise because they were critical infrastructure and property value had increased over the years.

He made the comment while responding to concerns about the safety of embassy staff raised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs last week.

During the ministry’s presentation to the committee on their 2014-2017 annual report, Opposition parliamentarian Anare Jale said there was a need for the ministry to thoroughly look into issues faced by diplomats serving overseas.

Mr Jale said a parliamentary team visited Fiji’s embassy in Wellington, New Zealand recently and members were concerned about location of the embassy.

He said this was because it was situated in a volcanic prone area.

Mr Jale stated the said issue could have been avoided if a proper quality survey was conducted.

In response, Mr Nayasi said since 2014, responsibility over the properties that the Fijian Government owned overseas had been shifted from his ministry to the Ministry of Public Enterprises and now rested with the Ministry of Economy.

He said there was also a budgetary allocation this year for the refurbishment of the embassies in Wellington and Canberra.