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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Fijian counterpart Pio Tikoduadua on Sunday and discussed ways and means to further deepen defence cooperation. They also agreed to institutionalise India-Fiji Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation. The meeting took place in Bengaluru on the sidelines of Aero India 2025 that kicks off from Monday. "Had an appreciative meeting with the Defence Minister of Fiji, Mr Pio Tikoduadua in Bengaluru. Discussed ways and means to further deepen defence cooperation. We agreed to institutionalise the India-Fiji Joint Working Group (JWG) on Defence Cooperation," Singh posted on X. Tikoduadua, after arriving in Bengaluru, wrote on X, "Fiji and India share a long history of collaboration and we hope to further our relationship." In a separate post on the social media platform, Singh said he also met with the defence minister of South Sudan and they reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation. "Met with the Defence Minister of South Sudan Lt Gen Chol
President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Fiji on Monday on the first leg of her three-nation visit during which she will hold meetings with President Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka as India seeks to give further impetus to the historic bilateral ties. She will be in Fiji from August 5-7 at the invitation of its President Katonivere. This is the first visit by an Indian head of state to the archipelago nation. President Murmu was received by Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister, Viliame Gavoka, the Indian High Commissioner to Fiji, PS Karthikeyan, and other Fijian officials at the airport. "President of India, Her Excellency Droupadi Murmu arriving into Nadi for her two-day State Visit of Fiji. Her Excellency was received and welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Viliame Gavoka, Turaga na Tui Nadi Ratu Vuniyani Navuniuci and Fiji's High Commissioner to India, Mr Jagnnath Sami," said a post on the Fijian government's official Facebook page. During her visit, she
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday left for a six-day visit to Fiji, New Zealand and Timor-Leste. According to officials, she will visit Fiji from August 5-7 at the invitation of its President Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere. Murmu will hold bilateral meetings with Fiji's Katonivere and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. She is also scheduled to address the Fijian Parliament and interact with its members, many of whom are of Indian origin. "President Droupadi Murmu departs for her State visits to Fiji, New Zealand and Timor-Leste. This will be the first-ever visit by an Indian Head of State to Fiji, and Timor-Leste," the Rashtrapati Bhavan wrote on 'X'. Murmu will pay a State Visit to New Zealand on August 8 and 9 at the invitation of the island nation's Governor-General Cindy Kiro, officials said. This will be the first presidential visit to New Zealand from India after eight years. Besides a bilateral meeting with the governor-general, Murmu will have a meeting with Prime Minister ..
President Droupadi Murmu will undertake a six-day visit of Fiji, New Zealand and Timor-Leste beginning August 5, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Monday. Murmu's first destination will be Fiji where she will hold meetings with President Katonivere and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. "This will be the first-ever visit by a Head of State from India to Fiji," the MEA said on Murmu's August 5 to 6 trip to the island nation. It said she is scheduled to address the Fijian Parliament and interact with the Indian diaspora in the country. "The visit reflects India's continued commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations with Fiji," the MEA said. "On the second leg of her visit, President Murmu will visit New Zealand on August 7 to 9 at the invitation of Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor General of New Zealand," it said. During the State visit, she will hold a bilateral meeting with Governor General Kiro and meet Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. President Murmu will
Fiji's leader says that after meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, he hopes to collaborate with China on upgrading his nation's shipyards and ports. Sitiveni Rabuka made the remarks to lawmakers in Parliament on Wednesday. Rabuka is generally viewed as leaning less toward China than his predecessor Frank Bainimarama, and in a visit to Australia last month, Rabuka emphasized he was more comfortable dealing with traditional friends such as Australia. But in his Wednesday remarks, Rabuka highlighted the economic ties his small South Pacific island nation has forged with China over 50 years of diplomatic relations. Rabuka said that in his meeting with Xi last week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco, he discussed how China's assistance was pivotal to Fiji's post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Rabuka said China's Belt and Road Initiative aligned with Fiji's development agenda and that China had contributed toward a number of grants a
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Monday conferred with the highest honour of Fiji by its premier Sitiveni Rabuka in recognition of his global leadership, in a rare honour for a non-Fijian. Modi arrived here in Papua New Guinea on Sunday on his maiden visit to the country to host a key summit between India and 14 Pacific island countries to boost bilateral ties. "Big Honour for India. Prime Minister Modi has been conferred the highest honour of Fiji by the PM of Fiji: Companion of the Order of Fiji in recognition of his global leadership. Only a handful of Non-Fijians have received this honour to date," the Prime Minister's Office said. Prime Minister Modi dedicated the honour to the people of India and to the generations of the Fiji-Indian community, who have played a key role in the special and enduring bond between the two countries, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Twitter. On the sidelines of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) summit, he also met
India and Fiji on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka witnessed the MoU exchange.Jaishankar on the occasion said: "I just signed and exchanged the visa waiver agreement. It will be helpful in encouraging greater travel between our two countries."Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka called the MoU exchange a landmark achievement and said positive discussions were held today to further advance mutual cooperation in key areas of development notably in health and education."On behalf of the government of Fiji, I thank the government of India for realising this important cooperation. I'm confident that we will witness many more such initiatives unfolding through the deepening of our cooperation," Rabuka said.As a result of the visa exemption, diplomatic and official passport holders in India and Fiji will now be able to enter, ...