A NEW agreement between the Fijian and Chinese governments was formalised yesterday that will see the construction of a health and wellness centre at the State House compound in Suva.
The agreement in the form of a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Official Secretary to the President Pene Baleinabuli and the Director-General Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office Liu Baochun.
Mr Liu is part of a 19-member Delegation from Guangdong Province in China, which is visiting Fiji to help strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The delegation is led by Mr Li Xi, the Member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee.
The MOU for the health and wellness centre is among a few others that the delegation is signing during its visit.
This includes an MOU on the construction of a sports stadium at Valelevu, and the handing over of the newly redeveloped Suva Civic Centre building to the Suva City Council, which was funded by the Guangdong Province.
Following the MOU signing, Fiji’s President Jioji Konrote renewed the call for a healthy, productive nation and foor all Fijians to live a healthy lifestyle to be more productive.
“As Fiji’s lead advocate and champion in the national campaign to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs), I urge all Fijians and especially the leaders in society to lead by example and live a healthy lifestyle. NCDs continue to account for about 80 per cent of deaths for Fijians below the age of 70 years.
“This is our nation’s most productive population,” Mr Konrote said.
He said Fijians must be fit and healthy for the nation to be more productive.
“Productivity in the workforce depends to a great extent on how healthy the workers are,” he said.
