Fiji’s non-resident High Commissioner to the Republic of Kiribati, Mrs Litia Mawi, recently presented her credentials to the President of Kiribati, His Excellency President Anote Tong.

In presenting her credentials in the country’s capital, Tarawa, High Commissioner Mawi, on behalf of the Government and the people of Fiji, acknowledged with warmth and appreciation the Government of Kiribati’s open policy to continue engaging constructively with the Fiji Government in its respect of the sovereignty of Fiji to settle its own internal affairs, and more notably, in its recognition of the crucial role that Fiji plays in the region.

Mawi assured HE President Tong that Fiji’s internal decisions such as the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations in January this year were assertive indicators to all stakeholders genuinely interested in Fiji’s testimony as an independent nation acting in its own deliberate judgment and within its own stipulated timelines without any external pressures, in the lead up to the General Elections in 2014.

Mawi assured that Fiji will meanwhile continue to strengthen relations with Kiribati through closer cooperation in the public, private and civil society sectors that will provide opportunities to share solutions to evolving challenges in building “A resilient Pacific community through self-reliance at all levels.”

Mawi also acknowledged the many Fijians who are earning livelihoods in Kiribati, in contributing to the nation’s economy and in reciprocity, although on a smaller scale, of the fact that Fiji hosts the largest number of iKiribati nationals living abroad.

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