EAM Jaishankar, Fijian President Katonivere jointly inaugurate 'Solarisation Project' in Fiji

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and President of Fiji Wiliame Katonivere on Thursday jointly inaugurated the $1.3 million solarisation project, largely funded by India, in this South Pacific nation.

They together launched the 'Solarisation of Pacific Heads of State Residences project' (under Solarisation of Head of State) at the Fiji State House.

"Pleased to be called on H.E. Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, President of Fiji in State House in Suva. Jointly inaugurated the Solarization of the State House. This is the first of a series that India is supporting in the Pacific Islands," Jaishankar tweeted.

"Fiji, as a founding member of the @isolaralliance, is a strong partner in sustainable development," he added.

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According to sources, the project to improve resilience in the Pacific was signed in June 2020 in Suva between United Nations Resident Coordinator and Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF).

The two-year project, costing more than $1.3 million has been largely funded by India- United Nations Development Partnership Fund.

Under the project, Photovoltaic (PV) systems will be installed on buildings of national significance, such as the executive administrative residence of 11 countries (Fiji, Federated States Micronesia, Palau, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu).

Jaishankar is is on a three-day visit to the South Pacific archipelago nation to attend the 12th World Hindi Conference currently being held.

The first World Hindi Conference was organised in 1975 in Nagpur. To date, 11 World Hindi Conferences have been organised in different parts of the world. The last conference was held in Mauritius in 2018.

He also witnessed the Parliament session in Fiji on Thursday.

"Glad to meet MPs and witness the Parliament session in Fiji earlier today. Appreciated Minister Charan Jeath Singh’s address in Hindi," he tweeted.