B&R Initiative brings new opportunities for the South Pacific: Fiji PM

Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. [Photo: China Plus]

Among the 29 heads of state or government attending the upcoming Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing will be Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. 

What does the Belt and Road Initiative mean to this tiny South Pacific island nation and the region as a whole? 

To many Chinese, the tiny island of Fiji is a remote but attractive tourist destination, with very few aware of the fact that the first Chinese set foot on the island more than 160 years ago. 

China and Fiji forged diplomatic ties in 1975, and during President Xi Jinping's state visit in November 2014, the two sides agreed to establish a strategic partnership based on mutual respect and common development.

Small as they are, Fiji and other South Pacific island nations enjoy a unique advantage in terms of their geographic locations, becoming potential key partners for cooperation in building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. 

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama believes the Belt and Road Initiative will bring new opportunities for the future of the South Pacific.

"The Belt and Road Initiative comes with regional development, South-South cooperation, and that assists us in bringing about infrastructure, which is very important for us. It'll not only help Fiji, but we also hope to pass it across the rest of the South Pacific region," said Bainimarama.

As the second largest economy in the South Pacific after Papua New Guinea, Fiji enjoys abundant fishery, forestry and mineral resources. 

However, similar to other fellow South Pacific nations, the lack of infrastructure becomes a bottleneck to their future development. 

The Fiji government has put in place a grand scheme to build the country into a regional transportation hub, and according to Prime Minister Bainimarama, their goal and the Belt and Road Initiative is highly complementary.

"We have a few Chinese companies here; they have brought a lot of infrastructure to Fiji, building our roads, our bridges and ports. So it has helped us in developing our infrastructure in Fiji. Fiji is open for business, we have a lot of conditions in terms of the creation of business in Fiji, our weather is nice, the population is nice, and Fijians are very welcoming. And so we welcome everyone who wants to come to create business here in Fiji, especially in investment," said Bainimarama.

The Chinese government has been advocating that all countries, big or small, are welcome to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative so that the results of the concerted efforts will benefit wider areas. 

The upcoming Beijing Forum provides an opportunity for participating countries to deepen their friendship and reach consensus on mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. The Fijian Prime Minister says he feels excited about the Beijing trip.

"It will be exciting because this is the first time I'm attending one of these forums, so we're excited to find out what it is to offer. I understand we are the only Pacific island nation being invited, so we are very honored for the invitation. We hope to learn a lot from this Belt and Road Initiative. I understand it deals with regional cooperation, so I'm hoping to gain a lot of knowledge and support for the regional cooperation that I can bring back to the Pacific islands, especially to Fiji, and also in South-South cooperation," said Bainimarama.

Meanwhile, as the President of COP23, or the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change, Mr. Bainimarama expects to use the Beijing forum to meet with other world leaders and discuss the agenda of the key meeting later this year.