Location: High Commission of India Office, Suva.
Acting High Commissioner of India Mr Sahoo
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Members of the media;
Bula Vinaka and Good Morning to you all.
Today is a special day, not only for the Ministry and the High Commission of India, but for every farmer and vendor selling from temporary roadside stalls along the Kings and Queens Highway.
India has been our long standing bilateral partner and friend, hence, I take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Government of India for supporting the Fijian Government’s initiative of building standardised roadside stalls for vendors and farmers along our national highways.
The agreement to partner and sponsor the construction of 2 standardised roadside stalls comes at a time when we are supporting Fijian communities connect to agriculture and build back.
Whilst the Ministry had advertised for a Public Private Partnership Opportunity with Organisations and individuals to sponsor roadside stalls, the Ministry is currently working on identifying suitable locations to construct 2 roadside stalls – so we sincerely thank the Government of India for their phenomenal support and partnership.
We aim to have these stalls constructed by this year and officially handed over to potential vendors and farmers in the identified locations.
To date, the Ministry has constructed and officially handed over 91 standardised roadside stalls to vendors along the highways in Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.
As you all know, in a span of just months, Fiji was faced with 3 tropical cyclones. This means projects such as this are extremely crucial to ensure Fijians are given not only safe and hygienic but cyclone proof spaces to sell from.
So, I request the private sector organisations to come forward and help support the Fijian Government’s initiative of constructing roadside stalls in a presentable and more hygienic manner around Fiji.
With these words, once again on behalf of the Fijian Government and the people of Fiji, I wish to thank the Government and people of India for their continuous support and friendship.
Dhanyavaad and Vinaka Vakalevu.