Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Fijian Government on (a) bilateral relations and (b) regional stability.

The Foreign Secretary sent a congratulatory message to the new Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in December 2022. Our High Commissioner and his team in Suva have ongoing discussions with the Government of Fiji spanning our cooperation on tackling climate change, supporting trade between the UK and Fiji, renewable energy and supporting the 1500 Fijian soldiers serving in the British Armed Forces. We welcome Fiji's support in the UN General Assembly on our shared interests including speaking out against Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. As a fellow maritime island nation, we work closely with Fiji to tackle Illegal, Unregulated and Unauthorised Fishing in the Pacific, and Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS SPEY conducted joint exercising and cooperation with their Fiji Navy counterparts twice last year.