Fiji and Singapore remain committed to strengthen bilateral relations and maximise cooperation opportunities for the mutual benefit of key development interests of both nations.
This was conveyed during a virtual introductory meeting held on Friday last week, between Singapore’s Non-Resident High Commissioner to the Republic of Fiji and Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to the Pacific Islands Forum, Mary Seet-Cheng and the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister, Immigration and Sugar Industry and Acting Permanent Secretary Foreign Affairs, Yogesh Jitendra Karan.
Discussions focused on upscaling the current engagements between the two nations in areas of climate change, health, education, transport, housing, and disaster management to name a few.
Mr Karan conveyed the Fijian Government’s appreciation to the Government of Singapore for its support towards the development of Fiji and the Pacific region.
He said Fiji looks forward to working closely with Singapore to pursue enhanced partnership opportunities.
Mrs Cheng reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to work closely with Fiji in advancing the key priorities and aspirations of the Fijian Government.
As a Small Island Developing States, (SIDS) member country, Fiji has priority placement in the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). Technical assistance is provided for under the SCP and priority sectors covered by the SCP include governance, urban management, environmental sustainability and transport systems.
Human Resources (HR) development through short training programmes is the main area in which Fiji gets assistance from Singapore.
Singapore announced a special three-year technical cooperation assistance package for SIDS countries at the Third International Conference on SIDS in 2014.
This includes, priority placement for SIDS country applicants for SCP courses, three customised courses for SIDS officials on topics relevant to SIDS’ needs such as disaster management and non-traditional security, as well as fellowships in civil aviation and maritime courses held in Singapore.
The package has been renewed for a further three years until 2020 and now offers additional customised training programmes in any area of interest.
Fiji established formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of Singapore on 30th November, 1971.
The Fiji Embassy in Jakarta Indonesia is currently accredited to Singapore.
