Fiji prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka on Thursday thanked ‘great old friend’ India after external affairs minister S Jaishankar – on a three-day visit to the Pacific island nation hosting the World Hindi Conference – announced a visa waiver agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders. “… very fortunate to have such a great power and economy talking to us…” Rabuka – sworn in as Fiji’s PM in December – said as he deflected questions about ties with China.
“We thought it was bad manners to talk about somebody who is not in the building. We spoke about our own cooperation… we’re very fortunate to have such a great power and economy talking to us,” Rabuka said. “We have great old friends. There are no really new friends in this region. We have been friends with India. We have been friends with China. We’ll continue our relationship,” he said when asked if China was discussed in the talks.
“Pleased to say India will always be a special friend and trusted partner…” Questions about Fiji’s relationship with China came after reports it had terminated an agreement – signed in 2011 – with Beijing to train its police. The deal saw Fijian officers trained in China and Chinese officers deployed to Fiji for three to six months. He said officers from other countries – Australia and New Zealand – could stay because their systems were similar to Fiji.
