The Norway-Pacific Oceans-Climate Partnership built on shared belief and perspectives on multilateralism is opening advanced research and development opportunities for young people in Fiji and across the Pacific Island Development States (PSIDS).
This has been reiterated by Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Satyendra Prasad whilst speaking through the virtual event at the official launch of the Norway-Pacific Ocean-Climate Scholarship Programme (N_POC).
The N_POC program was officially launched earlier this week by Fiji’s Prime Minister Honourable Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and Norway’s Minister for International Development Mr. Dag-Inge Ulstein.
In his address Ambassador Prasad spoke on the importance of the Norway and Pacific partnership in accelerating the SDG’s and the urgency of taking actions to preserve the health of the Pacific’s oceans and its biodiversity.
“In Norway, the Pacific small states find a convergence of perspectives. Norway has genuine empathy with the plight of; and pressures that small states face in the global system. It has spoken persistently and forcefully in their support – at the UN and across international forums”.
Ambassador Prasad said that “like the Pacific, Norway is a large ocean state, having depended on its ocean for centuries for its sustenance and livelihoods. Like the Pacific; Norway also has to find the balance between stewardship and sustainability. This always requires cooperation between neighbours; and across the international system. Multilateralism is in both our DNA’s.
But building new sustainable blue economies also requires investments that are beyond most of the PSIDS. Norway has led the world in the establishment of PROBLU – the first dedicated multilateral financing instrument for the development of sustainable blue economy”.
“In framing this science and education partnership between two great Universities – the USP and University of Bergen; the Pacific and Norway have approached their relationships on the basis of pragmatism. We are practical in our expectations; in our ambition; and in agreeing to what makes the best sense for each of our countries,” Ambassador Prasad said.
Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said that the “Norway and Pacific Oceans-Climate Partnership makes pragmatic and substantial contribution to the Decade of Oceans Science.
“UNESCO-IOC’s launch of the Decade of Oceans Science kicks off in the new year. We know far too little about our Oceans. We need to bring new scientific knowledge and traditional wisdom; repeated observation and solid analytics in finding the balance between stewardship and sustainable development.
“This partnership aims to develop world class talent within the PSIDS region. From the platform of a partnership between the best of knowledge, science and technology available at the University of Bergen to great research, analytic and scientific capabilities at the University of the South Pacific; PSIDS Governments look to the emergence of a new world class cohort of Pacific climate and oceans experts.
“The Pacific needs to shape the international agenda with its own science and analysis,”. “In the area of international climate and oceans diplomacy , Pacific’s leaders and policy makers had very high expectations from this program”, Ambassador Prasad elaborated.
Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the UN had a message to young scholars who will participate in the program, “As the World and the Pacific recovers from COVID19; there will be no return to business as usual. The Pacific will create new-opportunities from its oceans and from its lands – that are greener; that are bluer; that are fairer and that are far more sustainable. We look to your enormous contributions to those efforts.”