Fiji and Australia’s renewed and elevated Vuvale Partnership will be further strengthened this week through the first official visit to Fiji by the Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, and Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy.
During the two-day (Tuesday 30 April to Wednesday 01 May 2024) visit to Fiji, Minister Conroy will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sitiveni Rabuka to discuss how Fiji and Australia can continue to grow the Vuvale Partnership and better support Fiji to deliver on its development priorities, including in infrastructure, skills development, and sport.
During the visit, Minister Conroy will make major announcements responding to those priorities, including on port infrastructure, cyber and aviation, and scholarships.
Minister Conroy’s visit demonstrates Fiji and Australia’s warm relations and strengthened cooperation on issues of importance such as climate change, economic resilience, and defence and security.
Minister Conroy’s visit is an opportunity for the two nations to engage more closely to address shared global and regional challenges.
While speaking on this visit, Minister Conroy said, “I look forward to travelling to Fiji to further strengthen our deep and enduring relationship underpinned by our renewed and elevated Vuvale Partnership.
“I am delighted to meet with Prime Minister Rabuka again, after several engagements in Australia, to better understand how we can practically support Fiji to deliver on their development priorities, and to discuss how we can continue to grow our partnership, including in infrastructure, cyber security, skills development and sport.”
While in Fiji, Minister Conroy will visit the Blackrock Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Camp in Nadi, and tour Lautoka Port and Fiji National University’s School of Aviation in Nadi.
Minister Conroy will also participate in a local Team Up sports program together with some of Fiji’s finest athletes as they prepare to represent their nation at the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris. He is looking forward to seeing firsthand how Australia is helping Fijian communities access inclusive and safe sports activities.
This is Minister Conroy’s first bilateral visit to Fiji as Minister for International Development and the Pacific and Minister for Defence Industry.
