Acting Australian High Commissioner Glenn Miles with President Parveen.

Australia will continue to support Fiji in trade, development aid, and a smooth return to democracy,  H.E. Mr Glenn Miles, Acting High Commissioner to Fiji told more than 20 members and guests attending the RCSE meeting last Monday. Miles, a Melbourne native, studied media relations and politics at Uni in Melbourne before launching a career in foreign affairs. He has been posted in Kuwait and Bougainville, PNG, before arriving in Fiji in 2012.

In his address to the club, Miles detailed the current state of foreign relations between Australia and Fiji and outlined numerous commitments Australia has made, including:

• Electoral assistance– from funding a non-partisan Electoral commission to providing electronic voter registration to training staff and journalists;
• Provision of visas– Australia has done away with the long lines outside the High Commission and has simplified the visa application process;
• Flexibility of travel sanctions– in the last 18 months, many of the travel sanctions for Fiji government and military officials and their families have been relaxed;
• Humanitarian and Development aid– Australia continues to support Fiji’s development by providing vaccinations, rehabilitating schools, providing scholarships, delivering emergency relief, and funding numerous development assistance projects around the country; and
• Support for Fiji businesses and trade– Australia is helping to establish new export pathways for Fiji products, as well as supporting investment and business opportunities in Fiji.

These were just a few of the key messages Mr Miles had to share about the bilateral relations between Fiji and Australia. Suva East was happy to host him and looks forward to increasing cooperation and collaboration with Australia in 2014.