Indian Newslink May 1, 2018 Digital Edition

MAY 1, 2018
Bainimarama speaks of practical and honest governance
Fiji lists its first Green Bond at London Stock Exchange
Venkat Raman
venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz
Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia
Voreqe Bainimarama
has called on the Fijian
Diaspora in the United
Kingdom to exercise their
democratic right and vote in the
next general elections due to be
held in Fiji this year.
Editor’s Note: Fiji allows dual citizenship
and those who have a
valid Fijian passport (issued for
qualified former Fijian nationals)
can vote. The diplomatic missions
of Fiji provide more information
on the procedures and process
involved.
Speaking to the Fijian community
in London (on April 23) where
he attended the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting, Mr
Bainimarama said that his government
believed in practical, honest
and inclusive governance.
Promoting Fijian values
“Whatever our political differences,
we can all agree on certain
values that define us as Fijians.
And the first and foremost of these
is that we are a caring Nation. A
Nation in which we care for each
other and care about the people
living in other nations as well,” he
said.
Mr Bainimarama said that his
government addressed equality of
opportunity for all Fijians, through
empowerment, including access to
free education, economic prosperity
“ensuring that not a single Fijian
is left behind.”
Frank Bainimarama at the London Stock
Exchange on April 18 to launch Fiji’s first
Green Bond
Describing Attorney General and
Minister of Economy Aiyaz Sayed-
Khaiyum as his ‘right-hand man,’
Mr Bainimarama said that they
are focused on the consistent and
steadfast financial management of
the Fijian economy.
“Because we know that
everything else flows from that:
the record number of jobs we
have created, the new infrastructure
everywhere – roads, airports
and all manner of development
– and our ability to provide free
schooling, tertiary scholarships
and loans, free medicine and water
and subsidised electricity for
low income earners, the first social
security system in Fijian history,”
he said.
Global Warming dangerous
As the President of ‘COP23’ (the
23rd Annual Conference of the
Parties to the 1992 UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change),
Mr Bainimarama is a vociferous
campaigner on addressing global
warming as a global issue.
“I trust the intelligence and com-
mon sense of the Fijian people.
They know that I am fighting for
their interests at home and overseas.
And I draw great strength
from the support as President of
COP23. Because the Fijian people
know that this is a struggle not
only for our own generation but
generations of Fijians to come,” he
said.
“We must persuade the world to
limit the increase in global warming
that is causing these events to
no more than 1.5 degree Celsius
above that of the pre-industrial
age. We must succeed with the
Talanoa Dialogue to raise the ambition
of all nations to make deeper
cuts in the carbon emissions
that are causing this warming,” he
added.
Mr Bainimarama said that global
warming is reaching dangerous
limits and that global temperature
would rise by at least 3 degrees
by the end of the Century (not 1.5
degrees).
“That would be catastrophic for
Fijilink
09
the whole planet,” he said.
Green Bond Listing
On April 18, 2018, Fiji became
the first South Pacific country to
start trading on the green bond
segment of the London Stock
Exchange Group. Mr Bainimarama
was present at the Exchange at the
start of the first international green
bond.
London Stock Exchange Group
Chairman Donald Bryndon said
that Fiji’s landmark transaction
represents the first international
sovereign green offering from
an emerging economy and from a
Commonwealth country.
Source: Government of Fiji, Suva
Bainimarama-Ardern meet thaws relations
Supplied Content
Fiji and New Zealand have
explored new opportunities
to increase flows
of bilateral trade and investment
during a meeting between
Prime Minister Josaia
Voreqe Bainimarama and his
New Zealand counterpart Prime
Minister Jacinda Ardern in
London on April 19, 2018.
The Prime ministers met on the
side-lines of the Commonwealth
Heads of Governments Meeting
(CHOGM) held in the British
Capital on April 19 and 20.
Tapping potential
Mr Bainimarama said that
there was a great deal of unrealised
potential between the two
countries in the arenas of trade
and investment and pointed to
the Fiji-NZ Business Council as an
effective vehicle for greater economic
exchange.
Frank Bainimarama with Jacinda Ardern in
London on April 19
(DEPTFO News and Picture)
He welcomed the growth of tourism
arrivals from New Zealand to
Fiji last year.
In their talks, Ms Ardern pledged
to take a new approach to regional
cooperation, moving from simply
being a donor toward becoming
a more involved partner in the development
of Fiji and other Pacific
Island nations.
Mr Bainimarama thanked New
Zealand for its continued assistance
of Fiji and its Pacific neighbours in
the immediate aftermath of tropical
cyclones over the years.
He said that Fiji valued its relationship
with New Zealand,
noting the recent progress and
strengthening of the bilateral
relationship.
Ms Ardern reiterated New
Zealand’s support to Fiji’s COP23
presidency, acknowledging that
her country needs to play a bigger
role in the fight against climate
change. She voiced full
support of restricting the average
global temperature increase to
within 1.5 degrees.
Mr Bainimarama briefed Ms
Ardern on Fiji’s preparations for
the 2018 General Elections and
thanked New Zealand for its continued
assistance and support in
patrolling Fiji’s exclusive economic
zone over the past 18 months.
Additional Reading: Our
Leader, ‘Another forward step
towards Fiji’ under Viewlink.
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