Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week on the margins of the International Solar Alliance Founding Conference at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, India.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Modi conveyed his gratitude to Prime Minister Bainimarama for his support for the International Solar Alliance initiative.

Prime Minister Modi, referred to Prime Minister Bainimarama’s role in this initiative as an ambassadorial role, where he brought people together and gave the initiative leadership which brought them to where they are today, a stage where they are able to implement action-oriented plans.

The counterparts used the opportunity to discuss areas of mutual interest to further enhance their bilateral economic cooperation.

The Indian Prime Minister is seeking support from his countryside Gujarat State to establish a supply chain of pharmaceutical products in Fiji. Prime Minister Modi further stipulated the need for Fiji to link up with the Indian navy to monitor Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

India also stands ready to support Fiji in defence and electrifying its rural communities with the distribution of LED bulbs.

India is the fastest growing economy and through its UJALA initiative is boasting its LED supply source.  So far India has distributed around 280 million LED bulbs worldwide.

The initiative aims to replace an estimated 770m, mostly incandescent lamps, with energy-efficient LED lamps by 2019.

This is the 4th bilateral meeting between the two prime ministers.

They previously met at the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) 1 in Suva in the year 2014, FIPIC 2 in Jaipur India, 2015, and in New Delhi in the year 2016.

The meeting is a testament of the strong ties between India and Fiji and marks the importance of collaboration and regular dialogue in enhancing co-operation.

Source: DEPTFO News

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