Hon. Minister Timoci Natuva,

Hon. Acting Commissioner of Police, Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to attend this ceremony to hand over Chinese police equipment to the Fiji Police. Thank you for the thoughtful arrangements you have made for today’s ceremony.

China enjoys a close and cordial relationship with Fiji in various areas, among which the cooperation between our two police forces is an important component. Over the years, we have not only witnessed frequent high level visits between the two law enforcement forces, such as the visit to Fiji by Chinese Vice Minister for Public Security Mr. Deng Weiping in September this year, but also close cooperation in providing mutual assistance for law enforcement. We have also had productive personnel exchanges which enable our ordinary police officers to learn from each other the best practices and share their knowledge and expertise in dealing with various kinds of situation. In recent years, about 60 Fijian police officers have attended the police training program in China, and 6 police officers from China have come to Fiji to work together with their Fijian counterparts. We are so pleased to see the steady progress and real benefits achieved from these exchanges and cooperation and have every reason to believe that with the joint efforts from both sides, friendly exchange and cooperative relationship between our two police forces will be further strengthened.

Police force is an important state apparatus in every country, which plays a vital role in maintaining law and order of the country and safeguarding the peaceful life of its people. We are pleased to see that the Fiji Police has well performed its duties in that regard and very much wish to see its capacity further enhanced to better fulfill its missions for its people.

We will do whatever we can to provide support and assistance to the Fiji Police for its capacity building. Today’s donation of a monitoring center, 10 escort motorcycles,with the total value of 2 million RMB, equivalent to six hundred seventy thousand Fijian Dollars,is the third batch of police equipment provided by China’s Ministry of Public Security for the Fiji Police in recent years. It demonstrates our sincere desire to support the effort of the Fiji Police to build its capacity. It is also another illustration of the substances and benefits that the 40 years of China-Fiji diplomatic ties have brought to us.I hope these equipment will be of great help for the Fijian Police Force toenhance its law enforcement capacity and raise its profile in these auspicious occasions of state ceremonies and VIP visits.

The Chinese Embassy in Fiji will continue to support and promote friendly exchanges and practical cooperation between China and Fiji. I look forward to continue working with Hon. Minister, Hon. Acting Commissioner of Police and all friends present here to further promote the bilateral cooperation so as to add more impetus to the China-Fiji Strategic Partnership.