Embassy of Fiji opens in Seoul

First Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young, left, and Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, prime minister of Fiji, unveil a plaque for the Fiji Embassy in Seoul during an opening ceremony at the Westin Chosun Seoul, Thursday. (Photo : Courtesy of GEOCM)

The Pacific island of Fiji opened a brand new embassy in Korea Thursday, the first in 41 years after the two countries established bilateral diplomatic relations.

To an opening ceremony held at Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul came a high-profile delegation led by Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama.

In his speech, Bainimarama said the opening of a new mission in Korea illustrates “Fiji’s commitment to vigorously engaging” itself with the international community. Fiji also opened an embassy in South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia.

About 2,000 kilometers north of New Zealand’s North Island, Fiji has Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa and New Caledonia in its neighborhood. It is the most developed state in the region, yet its economy has been struggling.

In 1970, the country became free from the century-long British occupation

The democratic transition was interrupted by numerous military coups, the most recent which took place in 2006 by Prime Minister Bainimarama.

The coups brought about damage to its economy, which relies heavily on overseas donations.

As a result, aid donor countries withdrew their pledges and the flow of foreign investors slowed down. Also, it put the breaks on a growing tourism sector — it had to suffer a 6-percent decrease in tourist arrivals in 2007.

Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations, for Bainimarama refused to hold an election in 2010, a demand from the Commonwealth of Nations after the 2006 coup.

Yet, the prime minister, who promised an election in 2014, reassured participants of political stability and investor-friendly regulations in Fiji.

The size of investment from Korea to Fiji is very small. One of sizable investor is SPADE, a resort developer.

Yet, Ranuni Uluilakaba, chief executive officer of Investment Fiji, indicated the country has a huge potential. Fiji has thick tropical forests, abundant minerals and fish resources, which can be exchanged with Korea’s technology, he said.

Opening of a new embassy kindles expectations for formidable future cooperation between the two sides. The Korean government opened an embassy in Suva, the capital, in 1980, but it never nurtured the bilateral relations.

As one Korean diplomat who was posted in Fiji in the 1980s explained, the decision to open an embassy in Suva was to keep North Korea in check. <The Korea Times/Kim Se-jeong>

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