Fiji, EU ink 31 mln USD development partnership program

Fiji and the European Union on Tuesday signed a 31- million- U.S. dollar new partnership program, which will guide EU's development cooperation with the Pacific island country until 2020, the Fijian government said.

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and the European Commissioner for International Development Neven Mimica signed the National Indicative Program for Fiji in Suva.

Jointly prepared by the EU and the Fijian government to address key development challenges, the program, which covers Fiji's agriculture and sugar sector as well as the justice sector, will be implemented over the next five years.

Under the support to the agriculture and sugar sector, an amount of 22 million U.S. dollars will be invested in strengthening the sustainability and competitiveness of the sugar cane industry with a particular focus on vulnerable sugarcane farming communities.

The assistance to the judiciary sector, for which an indicative amount of nine million U.S. dollars is earmarked, will focus on access to justice. The initiative is expected to include strengthening the capacities of key justice public institutions and helping poor and marginalized communities to improve their access to legal services. Endi