NEW DELHI, Feb 12: India and Fiji today held wide- ranging discussion on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues and decided to expand cooperation in variety of sectors including agriculture and health care sectors.
During his talks with his Fijian counterpart Ratu Inoke, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid conveyed India’s support to elections in Fiji later this year and said it will help the country’s march towards a democratic polity.
After the talks, the two sides signed three MoUs on development cooperation, water resource management and in area of measurement and standardisation.
“The Foreign Minister and I have had substantive and fruitful discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of interest,” Khurshid said at a joint media interaction with Inoke.
Hailing Fiji’s adoption of a new Constitution, the External Affairs Minister said India will provide the country with indelible ink for polls, vehicles and impart training to election and parliamentary officials.
“India and Fiji share close and cordial relations. We agreed that bilateral relations have been growing and people-to-people contacts are developing very well in recent years,” Khurshid said.
He said both sides agreed to continue the excellent cooperation and understanding at political, regional and multilateral levels and expand cooperation in a variety of socio-economic sectors.
“Fiji is an important partner for India in the region and our Look East Policy. We have been happy to share our development experience with Fiji bilaterally and in the framework of South-South Cooperation. Fiji has supported us consistently in international fora,” Khurshid said.
He also welcomed the positive developments initiated by Fiji authorities for the population of Indian origin in recent times.
“We agreed to enhance cooperation in the area of agriculture, especially in the sugar sector. The upgradation programme provided by India has helped to increase sugar yield, strengthen capacity building and promote technology transfer. I am glad to that we are embarking on a second LOC (Line of Credit) for sugar sector and are also considering cooperation on a co-generation project in the sector,” he said.
On engagement in the health sector, Khurshid said India sees the prospect of Fiji emerging as a regional hub for generic medicines sourced from India to provide affordable health care.
Khurshid also appreciated Fiji’s help in providing assistance to India’s Mars Orbiter Mission in November 2013.
In his comment, Inoke thanked India for assistance in various sectors and said the meeting with Khurshid was fruitful.
To a question on Fiji’s suspension from the Commonwealth, he said the country was confident that the suspension will be lifted after elections in the country in September.
The Commonwealth had fully suspended Fiji after it refused to concede to the demands for holding elections. (PTI)
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