Fiji lists its first Green Bond at London Stock Exchange
Venkat Raman
Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama has called on the Fijian Diaspora in the United Kingdom to exercise their democratic right and vote in the next general elections due to be held in Fiji this year.
Editor’s Note: Fiji allows dual citizenship and those who have a valid Fijian passport (issued for qualified former Fijian nationals) can vote. The diplomatic missions of Fiji provide more information on the procedures and process involved.
Speaking to the Fijian community in London (on April 23) where he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Mr Bainimarama said that his government believed in practical, honest and inclusive governance.
Promoting Fijian values
“Whatever our political differences, we can all agree on certain values that define us as Fijians. And the first and foremost of these is that we are a caring Nation. A Nation in which we care for each other and care about the people living in other nations as well,” he said.
Mr Bainimarama said that his government addressed equality of opportunity for all Fijians, through empowerment, including access to free education, economic prosperity “ensuring that not a single Fijian is left behind.”
Describing Attorney General and Minister of Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum as his ‘right-hand man,’ Mr Bainimarama said that they are focused on the consistent and steadfast financial management of the Fijian economy.
“Because we know that everything else flows from that: the record number of jobs we have created, the new infrastructure everywhere – roads, airports and all manner of development – and our ability to provide free schooling, tertiary scholarships and loans, free medicine and water and subsidised electricity for low income earners, the first social security system in Fijian history,” he said.
Global Warming dangerous
As the President of ‘COP23’ (the 23rd Annual Conference of the Parties to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), Mr Bainimarama is a vociferous campaigner on addressing global warming as a global issue.
“I trust the intelligence and common sense of the Fijian people. They know that I am fighting for their interests at home and overseas. And I draw great strength from the support as President of COP23. Because the Fijian people know that this is a struggle not only for our own generation but generations of Fijians to come,” he said.
“We must persuade the world to limit the increase in global warming that is causing these events to no more than 1.5 degree Celsius above that of the pre-industrial age. We must succeed with the Talanoa Dialogue to raise the ambition of all nations to make deeper cuts in the carbon emissions that are causing this warming,” he added.
Mr Bainimarama said that global warming is reaching dangerous limits and that global temperature would rise by at least 3 degrees by the end of the Century (not 1.5 degrees).
“That would be catastrophic for the whole planet,” he said.
Green Bond Listing
On April 18, 2018, Fiji became the first South Pacific country to start trading on the green bond segment of the London Stock Exchange Group. Mr Bainimarama was present at the Exchange at the start of the first international green bond.
London Stock Exchange Group Chairman Donald Bryndon said that Fiji’s landmark transaction represents the first international sovereign green offering from an emerging economy and from a Commonwealth country.
Source: Government of Fiji, Suva
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Photo Caption:
Frank Bainimarama at the London Stock Exchange on April 18 to launch Fiji’s first Green Bond
