Caption: Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Hon. Sakiasi Ditoka and members of the Ministry’s senior management team with the Korean Ambassador to Fiji, H.E. Mr. Park Young-kyu and his delegation after a meeting in Suva this week.
SUVA – Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Honourable Sakiasi Ditoka received a courtesy visit early this week from the Korean Ambassador H.E. Mr. Park Young-kyu and a government delegation from Korea.
The two leaders discussed a range of issues during the meeting. These included discussions on our bilateral relations, Korean assistance through International Organisation Migration for the construction of evacuation centres, deployment of a KOICA volunteer in the Ministry, and our engagements with the Korean Government in the implementation of a successful village rural development model in a number of villages in Fiji known as the Saemaul Undong Programme (SMU), and the newly introduced Saemaul Geumgo Programme (SGP) model which is yet to be trialled.
The two leaders also discussed opportunities for future collaboration in the disaster space.
“We all know that Fiji has been facing floods every year. This is an area that Fiji and Republic of Korea can work together to share experiences and also share our expertise,” H.E. Mr Park said.
The Korean government will also be assisting the National Disaster Management Office through a project called the Global Project for Disaster Risk Reduction for the installation of six rainfall gauge, alarms and warning posts, in the province of Ba. There have also been indications that the project could be extended for another one or two years but details are yet to be finalised.
In his remarks, Hon. Ditoka thanked the Korean Government for the assistance rendered towards the Ministry so far and said that the Ministry is looking forward to continue the good work that has already been undertaken.
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The Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management is responsible for implementing development strategies that bring Fijians living in rural and maritime regions the same level of access to essential services and economic opportunities as anywhere else in the country. We coordinate and implement the Fiji Government’s rural and maritime development initiatives with a mission to empower Fiji’s rural sector. We also spearhead disaster risk reduction initiatives at national and sub-national level including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. We have offices for each of Fiji’s 14 provinces including Rotuma, leading the Fiji Government’s rural development and disaster risk management operations.
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