The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Hon. Lenora Qereqeretabua alongside the Pacific Delegations of Samoa and Tuvalu, participated in a Joint Dialogue with the Chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee and Vice Chair of the Delegation to the EU Assembly, Mr. Sven Simon. The meeting was held at the EU Parliament Office along the sidelines of the 4th EU-Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum in Brussels, Belgium.
Amongst key areas of discussions was the ratification of the OACP-EU Partnership Agreement also known as the Samoa Agreement which was signed by the OACP and EU states in 2023. Like other Pacific members of the OACP, Fiji has already tabled the Samoa Agreement to Cabinet and attained Cabinet endorsement. Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, the Agreement is expected to be tabled to Parliament in early 2026, and ratification to be undertaken shortly afterwards.
The Assistant Minister also provided an update on the establishment of the Pacific Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (PIPA) - recently endorsed by the Pacific Islands Parliamentary Group (PIPG) in Fiji in August of this year.
The establishment of PIPA provides an opportunity to strengthen Parliament relations across the region and is a platform to engage with partners such as the EU Parliament. It also contributes to the enhancing institutional arrangements under the Samoa Agreement.
Discussions also revolved around pressing issues for the Pacific and potential areas of engagement with the EU.