Hon. Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, CF(Mil),OSt.J, MSD, jssc, psc

Prime Minister of Fiji and Minister for iTaukei Affairs and Sugar Industry

TALKING POINTS – MEETING WITH HIS EXCELLENCY,GENERAL THANASAK PATIMAPRAGORN-DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND

Office of the Prime Minister - Tuesday, 1stSeptember,2015

1140hrs – 1220hs (Cabinet Chambers, Govt. Bldgs)

  1. Welcome
  1. Honourable Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf of the Fijian Government and the Fijian people, please allow me to convey our gratitude to youfor accepting Fiji’s invitation to be the Chief Guest at the 3rd Pacific Island Leaders’ Summit.
  1. I warmly welcome you and your Delegation to our shores andtrust that your visit will be afruitful and memorable one. We very much look forward to hearing you speak at the Summit and to gain Thailand’s perspective on the development challenges we all face in the Asia Pacific.
  1. I also wish to convey our condolences on the recent terrorist bombing at theErawan Shrine. Fijians shared the sense of shock and dismay throughout the world at this terrible event. And on their behalf, I would ask you to convey our sympathy to the families of those affected.
  1. Excellency, your presence in Fiji underlines the warm relations between Fiji and Thailand, and our commitment to embark on new initiatives to strengthen our engagement.
  1. Allow me to again thank you and your Government for the excellent hospitality accorded to me and my Delegation during our visit to Thailand in May.
  1. In the wake ofthat visit, I wish to highlight a number of matters and explore further ways to enhance our relationship.
  1. Pacific Islands Development Forum [PIDF]
  1. Excellency, your presence as Chief Guest at the Pacific Islands Development Forum is a great boost to the prestige of our unique regional coalition of governments, civil society groups and the private sector.
  1. This 3rd Summit, with the theme “Building Climate Resilient Green Blue Pacific Economies”, is vital not only in addressing the challenges we all face from the rising sea levels and extreme weather events caused by climate change. But it is also an important regional prelude to the forthcoming World Climate Summit in Paris, where Fiji and the Pacific nations plan to lead the campaign for binding cuts in carbon emissions to arrest the current level of global warming.
  1. We welcome Thailand’s renewed interest in the Pacific and look forward to your Government’s continued support and assistance for thePIDFin the months and years to come.
  1. Thailand/Pacific Islands Countries Forum [TPICF]
  1. Excellency, in this context, I would like to once again commend your Government forinitiating the Thailand/Pacific Island Countries Forum.My Government is highly supportiveof the TPICF and looks forward to engaging positively in future meetings.

D. Signing of MOU’s

1. Excellency, I am happy to note that we will be signing two MOUs today for greater co-operation between our countries in the areas of Fisheries and Technical Co-operation. These are tangible examples of our enhanced engagement and I hope they lead to more initiatives in due course.

  1. Visa Exemption
  1. Excellency, on the visa arrangements between our countries, Fiji remains keen -as agreed during my discussion with Prime Minister Chan-o-Cha in May -to formalise an arrangement for the granting of visas on arrival to Fijian Passport holders when entering Thailand. We regard this as especially important in facilitating and expanding the trade between us and our people-to-people exchanges.
  1. International Co-operation [TICA]
  1. Excellency, I wish to thank the Royal Thai Government for the provision of programs under the Thailand International Development Co-operation Agency – TICA – to assist developing nations like Fiji in the training and capacity building of our people.
  1. Fiji highly appreciates the fact that Thailand has committed itself - in co-operation with its ASEAN partners – to providing assistance to other developing and least developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
  1. Fiji has benefitted in a significant way from such assistance, which has primarily taken the form of short-term training programs in the following fields of expertise: Nursing, Agricultural Mechanization, Rural Development, Economic Development, Environmental Planning & Protection and Land& Resource Management.
  1. Excellency, further to this, I wish to propose that twinning arrangements and further co-operation be pursued between Universities and other Institutions of higher learning in Thailand and Fiji. We also seek student exchange programs in sectors such as Agriculture, Sugar, theCoconut Industry andForestry -to name but a few.
  1. Defence – Co-operation
  1. Excellency, we are especially keen to pursue Defence co-operation between Fiji and Thailand and also seek your assistance in this area. We are currently reforming Fiji’s National Defence Strategy and that process is progressing well. The opportunity to establish Defence co-operation between our countries would boost our efforts in this area and enhance our ability to support regional security initiatives.
  1. We also believe that a closer partnership between our Military establishments at a person-to-person level would enrich our respective institutions.
  1. Agriculture
  1. Excellency, Fiji and Thailand both rely heavily on the Agriculture sector for the health of our national economies and especially to sustain our citizens in rural areas. We seek Thailand’s support to enhance our agriculture sector and to learn from the many reforms you have already put in place to boost agricultural output.
  1. Fiji’s Ministry of Agriculture looks forward to working closely with the ThaiMinistry of Agriculture on areas of co-operation in this sector.
  1. Trade & Investment
  1. Excellency, Fiji recently launcheda Trade Policy Framework for the development of an integrated approach to attract investment and expand our trading opportunities throughout the world.
  1. The key objective of the Trade Policy Framework is to transform Fiji into a vibrant, diversified, and internationally competitive economy. We envisage our manufacturing and service sectors contributing to economic growth and prosperity by taking the Fijian Made brand to markets across the world. While at the same time, matching this export drive with a comprehensive effort to enhance Fiji’s ability to attract new investment and generate new industries.
  1. My Government is very keen for Thaibusinesses and investors to explore opportunities in Fiji. We provide one of the best investment climates in the Pacific Region, with low corporate and personal taxes and a range of investment incentives, including tax-free holidays.
  1. To this end, I propose that Trade and Investment Seminars be organized with potential investors in Thailand and in Fiji to explore these opportunities. The Fijian Mission in Malaysia stands ready to liaise with the Royal Thai Government to finalize arrangements on this proposal.
  1. Fisheries
  1. As highlighted during our May discussion with Prime Minister Chan-o-cha, Fiji remains keen to explore further co-operation and collaboration in the Fisheries sector.
  1. Forestry
  1. Excellency, following the meetings and visits undertaken by my Minister for Forests in May when we visited your country, we are keen to capitalise on the opportunities available in the Forestry sector. We were deeply impressed by your achievements in this area and believe that Fiji has much to learn from the Thai experience in developing our forestry assets.
  1. Tourism
  1. Excellency, as two economies heavily dependent on visitor arrivals,Fiji is also keen to learn from the Thai experience in developing your Tourism sector. This was also an issue that we discussed at our May meeting and we are keen to advance co-operation in this area. The opportunity also exists for strengthening tourism between our nations through the easing of visa requirements and more direct air links between Fiji and Thailand
  1. Climate Change
  1. Excellency, as I have already signalled, The Fijian Government is encouraging all countries in the Region to play an active role in pressing for urgent international action on climate change.
  1. We seek Thailand’s support – along with the rest of the international community – for decisive action to curb carbon emissions at the forthcoming World Climate Summit. As you know, many Pacific Island nations, including Fiji, are already suffering serious consequences from rising sea levels. And three of our members– Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands – risk being submerged altogether. We also seek Thailand’s support for international assistance to enable Pacific nations to better cope with the extreme weather events also being caused by climate change. Fiji has offered to assist our neighbours in developing their resilience to extreme weather events. But we also need outside assistance in this capacity building effort, given the increasing frequency and intensity of these events.

Conclusion

  1. Excellency, may I close by again paying tribute to Thailand’s positive contribution to the Asia Pacific region and your stated intention to strengthen your engagement with Fiji and other Pacific Island nations. I want to assure you of our continuing friendship and our determination to stand with the Thai Government and Thai people in defeating terrorism and promoting the peaceful and enlightened development of our region. We very much admire Thailand for its remarkable economic achievements and the progress you have brought the Thai people.
  1. Fiji has much to learn from Thailand. And we also stand ready to share our own experiences, work as partners in international forums and strengthen our relationship for the mutual benefit of our peoples.

VinakaVakalevu - Thank you.

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