New Delhi [India], August 25 : India is ready to extend "necessary civil aviation support" to Indian private air carriers to facilitate direct air connectivity with Fiji, said Neena Malhotra, Secretary (South), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), on Monday.
During a special briefing on the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, to India, Malhotra addressed the pressing issue of limited air connectivity between India and Fiji, while acknowledging the challenges stemming from the absence of a national carrier in India and the limited operations of Fiji Airways.
"On the direct (flight) connectivity, I do realise that it's a major, major challenge. India doesn't have a national carrier as of now, and Fiji Airways has limited operations. As of now, no direct air connectivity because we do not have a national carrier, so it's essentially within the hands of private airlines," she said.
The MEA expressed its readiness to assist any Indian private airline interested in establishing direct flights or code-sharing arrangements with Fijian carriers.
"We are ready to facilitate if any of our airlines want to have a code-sharing arrangement or to fly directly. We will be very happy to facilitate and provide the necessary civil aviation support," she added.
She also highlighted the avenues for enhanced economic cooperation, outlining four key sectors with "enormous possibilities" for collaboration between India and Fiji--agriculture, fisheries, construction, and tourism.
In the agriculture sector, she pointed to the historical legacy of Indian indentured labourers working on sugar plantations in Fiji.
She noted that with the decline of the sugar industry, Fiji became overly reliant on tourism, which hindered the development of other economic sectors. This overdependence, combined with the severe impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions, prompted the country to explore economic diversification in the post-pandemic period.
"At least 3 or 4 sectors where we enormous possibilities. Agriculture, fisheries, construction, and tourism. In the area of agriculture, in Fiji, where people from India had gone as indentured labour for sugar plantations, now there (Fiji) sugar industry is going down... But over the years, tourism has evolved so much that the entire focus is on tourism... There is an overdependence on tourism, which is why the other sectors of the economy have not developed very well. That is the reason and this has also happened post-COVID when tourism took a big hit, that many of these countries are trying to diversify their economies and are looking for skilled labour and skilled professionals from abroad, so agriculture is an area where we see enormous possibilities," she stated.
Regarding construction, Malhotra shared plans for significant infrastructure development, mostly centred around connectivity in the region.
"Second, Prime Minister shared that there's a lot of construction that they're expecting would happen. They are planning to have a new airport; they're planning to have another port. They're also planning to construct tourism-related infrastructure like there are no hotels. Not enough hotels in that country. So that is another area where we see a lot of possibility," she noted.
She also highlighted the potential for joint ventures in the fisheries sector, where India has established itself as a global leader in shrimp production and is venturing into pearl farming.
"In the fisheries sector as well, they have some possibilities for tuna processing. India imports tuna from Fiji, but fisheries as an industry hasn't developed that much. I think we are really a big power in fisheries nowadays. We are the largest in the shrimp, uh, production. We are also venturing into pearl farming. Fiji do some pearl farming, but on a very small scale," she added.
PM Rabuka arrived in New Delhi on Sunday, marking the start of his official visit to India, which will continue until August 26. This is his first visit to India as the Prime Minister of Fiji.