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Fiji receives 8.8 mln USD worth of weapons from Russia

Xinhua, February 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Fiji has received guns and ammunition worth around 8.8 million U.S. dollars from Russia, a senior Fijian government official confirmed Tuesday.

While responding to a question from a government MP at the parliament, Minister of Defense Timoci Natuva said the guns and ammunition shipped to Fiji recently and received by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces are part of a memorandum signed by the Fijian and the Russian governments in 2013.

The weapons are expected to strengthen capabilities of Fijian troops on UN peacekeeping duties, sources said.

Meanwhile, around 20 Russian soldiers, believed to be weapon experts, arrived in Fiji on Tuesday under tight security, according to local magazine Island Business.

The Russian soldiers landed at Fiji's Nadi International Airport onboard a commercial airliner and were whisked through the VIP channels normally used by diplomats and dignitaries, said the report, adding that after meeting Fijian military officials, the Russian soldiers were driven away in waiting transport.

With the Look North policy in effect, Fiji has been expanding ties with non-traditional partners all over the world. Enditem