Caption: Members of the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management’s senior management with a representative from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).
SUVA – Fiji remains committed to strengthening both its domestic and regional disaster management capabilities.
This was emphasised by the Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka during a recent bilateral meeting with a team at the New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington, NZ.
Hon. Ditoka reiterated that Fiji valued the partnership and support from nations like New Zealand, which were crucial in our collective efforts to create a safer and more resilient Pacific region.
“The regional disaster management architecture, the regional warehousing initiative, and our enhanced domestic capacities collectively form a robust system designed to protect our communities and build resilience against future disasters,” said Hon. Ditoka.
Minister Ditoka is currently leading an 8-member delegation comprising of members of the Ministry’s senior management on a peer-to-peer learning visit to New Zealand. The weeklong visit was made possible through funding support under a grant agreement between the Ministry and the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Discussions at the meeting were focused on ongoing disaster management activities and allocated funding under the current grant agreement. These included works on the new warehousing facility for the Commissioner Northern Division in Labasa, made possible through a $2million funding from the NZ Government.
Hon. Ditoka briefed the MFAT team about the Ministry’s asset management system which would be enhanced through a funding support of $0.5million, and the development of a flood early warning system for the Fiji Meteorological Service.
The delegation acknowledged the MFAT team for the funding support of $100,000 given by the NZ Government towards the successful execution of the 2023 National Disaster Awareness Week (NDAW). The event coincided with a National Simulation Exercise that attracted participation from 13 Pacific Island countries.
Minister Ditoka also briefed the team about ongoing works to boost disaster preparedness at the community level through the initiation of Community-Based Disaster Risk Management trainings, the maintenance of strategic assets, the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) GIS Software and capacity building, and our continuous efforts in coordination DRR for private sector engagement.
The two parties also discussed the regional disaster management architecture, and the regional warehousing initiative led by the Pacific Community (SPC), and updates on Fiji’s domestic capabilities.
Caption: Members of the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management at the bilateral meeting with a team from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).
