‘Bad Manners to Talk About…’: Fiji PM on Discussion About China During Meeting with S Jaishankar
Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka today spoke about his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishakar. He claimed that they did not discuss China during their meeting as they thought it would be ‘bad manners’ to talk about somebody who is not in the building.
According to ANI, Rabuka said China did not come up during talks with Jaishankar. “We thought it was bad manners to talk about somebody who is not in the building. We spoke about our own cooperation and we’re very fortunate to have such a significant power and economy talking to us,” the Fiji PM said.
Rabuka acknowledged India’s ties and thanked ‘great old friend’ India. “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,” Rabuka said.
He also appreciated PM Modi and the Indian government for their support in co-hosting the 12th World Hindi conference in Fiji.
“Fiji appreciates India’s commitment towards the development of our Pacific region through collective priorities. We are more resolved now than ever to build a strong and sustainable future for families in Fiji, the Pacific and beyond,” he said adding that he is confident that many more such initiatives will be conducted by the two nations through deeper cooperation.
Jaishankar was on a three-day visit to the South Pacific archipelago nation to attend the 12th World Hindi Conference. He met the Fiji PM and the two addressed a joint press meet where Jaishankar underlined that there have been “close and long-standing ties” shared between the two countries through people-to-people linkages. The two leaders also exchanged a visa waiver agreement.
“India and Fiji have close and long-standing ties and I think a large part of that is really built on our people-to-people linkages. We have been privileged to partner with Fiji in its nation-building efforts across various sectors, in working with it in capacity building; in areas like health, education, agriculture. There is an extremely substantive bilateral agenda before us,” Jaishankar said.
(With ANI Inputs)
