15c Ratu Mara - Founder of Fiji's Pine Industry
Fiji now derives more than $50 million a year in 6, tu Sir Ka.ises, Ma foreign exchange earnings from its forestry sector. Of this total, more than half is from pinewood chips exports.
It was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara who started and actively encouraged pine planting. Today, pine plantations cover close to 50,000 hectares throughout the Fiji Islands, and there is an ongoing programme 11 to further expand acreage in all parts of the country. Thanks to Ratu Mara's foresight as Prime Minister, this industry is providing a substantial and an .315 increasing source of income to those in our rural areas, including especially the indigenous Fijian landowners.
81c The Fili Islands -A multi-cultural Family
One of the hallmarks of Ratu Sir Kamisese's leadership as Prime Minister and now as our President is his strong belief in the family and in the Fiji Islands as a multi-cultural family.
In opening the National Summit of the Family in December 1994, he reminded us of the importance of the family. He called for greater devotion to our families as the centrepiece of our individual and personal lives; for this, in his view, is also the best contribution we can each make to Fiji's future as a multi-cultural nation.
His belief in multi-culturalism stems from his own deep personal commitment to Almighty God. It is reflected in his constant call to all of us, to make the doctrine of love the foundation of our daily lives - love of your neighbour, respect and tolerance of others, and service based on compassion and humility.
In his leadership of our nation, this has always been his central guiding principle. As he reminded us, when as Prime Minister he accepted the instrument of our country's new status as a sovereign independent State, on 10th October, 1970;
"...we do not only take on responsibility for ourselves, we take it on for each other. We are a community of many races with different cultures, customs and languages. But the things that unite us far outnumber those on which we differ. Above all, there is our fixed joint determination to build a strong united Fiji, rich in its diversity and tempered with tolerance, goodwill and understanding."
On this occasion of our President's bitthday, let us honour him by pledging to follow his example in our commitment to our families and to each other, on the basis of mutual love, respect and care.
$ 1.00 A thriving Sugar Industry - Thanks to Ratu Mara's Contnbution to the Lome Convention
The sugar industry continues to be the mainstav of r K..i.,cse MM Fiji's economy. This is due not only to the hard work :h M.v 2000 and contribution of all those in it, but also to the active involvement of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and his Government in negotiating special preferential marketing agreements for our sugar exports.
Fiji has to export more than 90 percent of its total annu sugar production, and for this, it is very important to secure guaranteed market access and remunerative prices.
The most important of these special preferential agreements is the Lorne Convention between Fiji and other countries in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group, and the European Union.
The first Lome Convention was signed in 1975, and Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was amongst ACP leaders who personally played a crucial role in negotiating this agreement. In fact, it was Ratu Mara who clinched the final agreement on the Sugar Protocol, and thus enabled the signing of the Lome Convention.
It is this Sugar Protocol which provides Fiji not only with guaranteed market access for the bulk of its sugar exports but also with a return in export proceeds far above what Fiji would have earned from sales in the open international market.
And the Lome Convention as a whole has given Fiji substantial benefits through its trade and aid provisions.
With the unanimous agreement of both the ACP and EU countries, a new convention between them is to be signed here in the Fiji Islands. This is to continue the partnership that was first established through the Lome Convention in 1975, and it will include the Sugar Protocol which has greatly benefitted Fiji's sugar industry.
$3.00 Active Role in Law of the Sea Negotiations Brings Direct Benefits
Under Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's leadership as Prime R@tu Sir Kamisese Mala Minister, one particular area of international diplomacy 13th May 2000 in which Fiji played an active role and made a significant contribution was in the negotiations that led to the signing of a new United Nations International Law of the Sea Convention in 1982.
For the Fiji Islands, the benefits were immediate and substantive.
The new Convention introduces a new regime for ir i archipelagic States like the Fiji Islands. This, together with the provision for maritime States to declare 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zones, has brought under Fiji's marine resource jurisdiction extensive areas of ocean space that were previously outside national authority.This has directly helped to create a burgeoning commercial fishing industry. Exports of fish and other marine products now exceed $50 million a year, and are continuing to be a steady growth area.
The commercial development of our marine resources and potential offers people in coastal areas and maritime provinces the best prospects for increased income.
