The Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka met with the chief executive officer of Conservation International (CI), Dr. M. Sanjayan, at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Apia, Samoa.
The meeting was an opportunity to discuss collaboration opportunities to advance Fiji’s commitment to climate mitigation and ocean conservation.
It was a platform to explore potential areas of cooperation, particularly with CI’s interest in further supporting Fiji in its commitment to building climate resilience and protecting 30% of its marine areas by 2030.
The discussions also looked at the CI’s ongoing cooperation with Fiji through the Ministry of Fisheries and Forestry, stakeholder engagement, and the development of a sustainable financial framework blending grants and private sector investments.
The importance of private sector investments and philanthropy in sustaining these initiatives, with potential for replication across Pacific island nations, was also among the key issues highlighted.
The meeting underscored Fiji’s commitment to position itself at the forefront of advocating for enhancing global and regional cooperation in climate action and ocean conservation to be able to innovate and build a more resilient future by working in solidarity with all stakeholders.
As part of his engagements at 2024 CHOGM, the Head of Government is expected to have meetings with the development partners on global and regional issues of importance to Fiji and the Commonwealth family.
CI has reaffirmed its support for Fiji’s strategic response efforts to address climate change and ocean-related challenges.