PUNTA CANA (PINA) — Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase will, in under three weeks, take on his biggest international role yet: taking over the presidency at the 78-nation African, Caribbean, Pacific Summit.
The current ACP president, Dominican Republic President Rafael Hipolito Mejia, will hand over to Qarase when Fiji hosts this group of nations’ 3rd summit from July 16 to 19, according to the head of the Fiji Mission to the European Union, Ambassador Isikeli Mataitoga, as he looked ahead to the summit being held at Sheraton Fiji Resort, Denarau Island, Nadi.
“Fiji and the PM will definitely have a much bigger international profile,” he said.
This profile will come not only when Qarase chairs the summit, officials attending ACP and ACP-EU ministerial meetings in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
It will also come when he speaks on behalf of the ACP internationally as the group becomes a growing voice for the developing world.
The ACP began as a trade and aid partner of the European Union in what has become one of the world’s most successful development partnerships.
But the central theme of the Nadi summit—ACP Solidarity in a Globalized World—reflects the group’s increasing role, the officials said.
The theme was chosen so ACP leaders can examine all avenues to strengthen ACP solidarity, they said. Recent examples given of this include:
– At the 4th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference, held in Doha last year, the ACP group spoke as a single voice. It highlighted the outcome of discussions of its Libreville and Santo Domingo summits.
– The ACP group is now working together preparing for August’s World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In a message about the Nadi summit, Qarase said the ACP group needs to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization.
He said: “To this end, the 3rd summit will also assess the potential threats, and in particular focus on the main challenges facing the ACP group of states and all developing countries. Namely, the eradication of poverty and the creation of an environment favorable to sustainable development.”
Qarase said the Nadi Summit will be the first opportunity for ACP heads of state and government to meet in the new millennium.
“I am convinced that this meeting could not have been scheduled at a more appropriate time,” he said.
“Our heads of state and government will have the opportunity to examine the profound changes that have occurred in the international environment, evaluate the outcomes of important international meetings, prepare and arrive at a common ACP position for forthcoming global events.”
He said in particular the Nadi Summit will focus on an ACP position for:
– the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
– guidelines for the important ACP-EU negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements, scheduled to commence in Brussels on Sept. 27.
The summit would also assess the state of and future role of the ACP group of states in the evolving international order.
Mataitoga was in Punta Cana as part of a strong Fiji team headed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Kaliopate Tavola and Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ratu Isoa Gavidi.
