President leads plea on Ocean of Peace to United Nations
Fiji is using the UN General Assembly to press for climate finance for small island states and international action on sea-level rise.
Friday 25 September 2026 | 08:00
Minister for Information, Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Sakiasi Ditoka and President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.
Photo: Pacific Islands Forum
President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, Foreign Affairs Minister Sakiasi Ditoka and Environment Minister Lynda Tabuya will take Fiji’s Ocean of Peace Declaration to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York today.
The declaration is a call for climate finance and stronger international action to combat sea-level rise.
Ratu Naiqama is scheduled to speak during the afternoon session, New York time, after Senegal and before Côte d’Ivoire.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said multilateralism must deliver for the Blue Pacific and small island states facing rising sea levels.
Fiji is seeking greater access to climate finance for island nations ahead of Pre-COP31, which will be co-hosted by Australia, Fiji and Tuvalu.
It also supports a UN declaration on sea-level rise.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said Mr Ditoka had met Russia’s Foreign Minister in New York.
“The Russian Minister wants a bilateral meeting with Mr Ditoka and some of the Pacific leaders,” Mr Rabuka told this masthead in Savusavu on Wednesday.
He said he had asked Mr Ditoka to convey the wish that the Ocean of Peace idea “could be spread to the rest of the world”.
The ministry has not yet released details of that meeting.
Mr Ditoka also met International Organization for Migration Director General Amy Pope to discuss labour mobility and the welfare of Fijian workers abroad.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu acknowledged Fiji’s HIV emergency declaration during their meeting.
In San Francisco, Mr Ditoka visited Google to discuss a second cable route at Natadola and a Digital Exchange Port.
The trip has drawn criticism over its cost, with $45,668 spent on business and first-class airfares.
Mr Ditoka said support “should be proportionate to the office held”.
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