Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday said of all those he’d met during his COP23 Presidency, none have captured his attention so much like Timoci Naulusala and Shalvi Shakshi.

Mr Bainimarama said this during the National Climate Day at Ratu Sukuna Park in Suva.

The two dubbed, Fijian climate ambassadors, delivered powerful speeches at the COP23 Fijian-leadership breakthrough in Bonn, Germany, last November.

He said it had been a great privilege for the Prime Minister as the COP23 President to lead the movement, which crosses all political lines and was the legacy of every Fijian.

“For me, the highlight of the whole year as COP President was a very simple one, the surge of pride I felt when I stood there on the podium in Bonn last November with our two young climate ambassadors, Timoci Naulusala and Shalvi Shakshi.

“Of all of the big names I’ve met in the past year such as the Macrons, the Merkels and even the Terminator himself, none are as seared in my memory as much as these two young Fijians.

“Because they took the spirit of our people to Bonn, the Bula spirit and our passion and determination in this struggle and fired the imaginations of others,” Mr Bainimarama said.

He said Fiji hands over stewardship of the COP negotiations to Poland, the President of COP24, with a record Fiji can be proud of that it became the first Small Island Developing State to lead the international community in the fight against climate change.

“And I urge you all to read it and encourage those around you to do the same. Because it really is a Fijian success story,” he said.

“And regardless of our respective political affiliations, the Fijian climate fight is something that unites us all,” Mr Bainimarama said.

“We fulfilled our obligation to maintain the momentum of the global negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the implementation of the Paris Agreement of 2015.

“Make no mistake there are challenges for next month’s meeting in Poland but we will do all we can to support them to finalise the guidelines for the Paris Agreement by the end of that meeting, which is the task they have been given,” Mr Bainimarama said.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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