Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed his Fijian counterpart Frank Bainimarama, during a state visit to Israel. Bainimarama, is touring the Middle East with an aim to discuss his country’s contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping in the region. Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked his Fijian counterpart for his country’s ongoing efforts to keep the peace on Israel’s borders, while noting that Jerusalem was committed to Peace. Netanyahu also reiterated Israel’s aspiration to advance direct negotiations with the Palestinian without pre-conditions, aimed at ending the decades-old conflict, while stressing that Fiji would be a great location to hold such talks.
“We are here to help, we are here to keep the peace and that commitment will continue now and in the years ahead. I’m also looking forward to Israel’s support, Sir, on a range of issues, on medical, on renewable energy, including agriculture, especially our effort to draw global attention to the need for more decisive action on climate change. The rising sea levels and extreme weather events associated with climate change threaten our very existence in the Pacific, and we need the support of Israel and every nation as we take the fight to Morocco later on in the week in COP22, sorry later in the month,” said Bainimarama. The Fijian Prime Minister thanked his Israeli counterpart for his hospitality, and asked for Israel’s help in combating climate change, among other issues, and invited Netanyahu to visit the Pacific Island.
“I’m glad that you had the opportunity to help us with the peacekeeping efforts, they’re not easy. The quest for peace is difficult but we remain committed to it. And you know, Mr. Prime Minister, every time there is a foreign leader here who stands here, I always say: ‘Look, I’ll be happy to begin peace negotiations without any conditions of course, but direct negotiations with President Abbas, why don’t you invite me to your country?’ And I mean it when I say it, but in your case, in Fiji, in your beautiful country, I really mean it, and I will not regret if the negotiations take another week, it will be fine,” said the Jewish leader.
After meeting Netanyahu the Fijian prime minister also visited Jerusalem’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, where he attended a ceremony at the museum’s ‘Hall of Remembrance’, where he laid a wreath to commemorate the 6 million Jews murdered during WWII.