Today, MIAS and the Monash Pacific Students Association (MANA) were honoured to host His Excellency Mr Luke Daunivalu, High Commissioner of Fiji to Australia. This was a roundtable style discussion hosted via Zoom due to the current COVID-19 restrictions which has limited MIAS’ events to an online format.
Fiji and Australia share quite a unique relationship, with both governments signing a ‘vuvale’ agreement regarding economic, cultural and security support. Fiji and Australia, as pacific countries, also share close trade links, education ties, economic relations, and workforce connections. Besides this, Fiji has the fourth largest economy in Oceania, behind Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
At the roundtable, His Excellency discussed the importance of Australian-Fijian relations and the collaboration our countries have undertaken in the Pacific region. He also discussed the importance of efforts to combat climate change, along with ways in which young people can become more engaged in Pacific affairs and in diplomacy in general.
We are grateful to His Excellency and the High Commission for allowing us this opportunity to learn more about Fiji. We also appreciate MANA for collaborating with us in this event and we hope we can work together soon in the near future.