Fiji urges international partners to help curb drug supply routes

Fiji is looking to strengthen cooperation with international partners to disrupt trafficking networks that are exploiting its vast ocean borders, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has told the United Nations.

“He said Fiji looked forward to working with international partners to target the supply and routes of trafficking networks, while also focusing on reducing demand and supporting recovery and rehabilitation for affected individuals and communities.”

Mr Rabuka warned that drug trafficking had become one of the country’s most pressing security threats.

“Excellencies, Fiji is challenged by an upsurge in transnational organized crime. Drug trafficking has exploited our vast maritime domain, spanning over 1.3 million square kilometers of ocean. This crisis threatens our national security and social fabric while exploiting our limited capacities,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Fiji’s response must be holistic — combining enforcement with health, rehabilitation, and community recovery.

He added that Fiji’s new National Security Strategy, launched in June, now serves as the blueprint to safeguard national interests in a complex and rapidly evolving security environment.