Suva, Fiji—The International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) hosted a conference at the Suva Peninsula Hotel, in the capital of Fiji, on July 16, 2019 with 70 dignitaries—including 13 members of Parliament, one cabinet minister and three diplomatic ambassadors—from different nations. The theme of the one-day event was “Addressing the Critical Challenges Facing Contemporary Society.”
Welcoming the participants was IAPP-Fiji chair, Hon. Alvick Maharaj. UPF-Oceania director, Mr. Yutaka Yamada, introduced the UPF Principles of Peace, and UPF-Asia-Pacific chair, Hon. Ek Nath Dhakal, spoke about the mission, vision and worldwide activities of the UPF and IAPP.
For many of the MPs, this was the first UPF program they attended. Hon. Vijay Jolly, a senior leader of India’s ruling party, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), and co-chair of the IAPP-India, shared his experiences with UPF and asked all the participants to join and support UPF’s work. UPF-Fiji director, Mr. Santosh Neupane, spoke about and invited all the attendees to take part in UPF’s activities in Fiji. The chair of UPF-Fiji as well as former minister of education of Fiji, Hon. Ratu Filimoni Rologibau, thanked everyone for their participation. Also in attendance was the Ambassador of India to Fiji, Mrs. Padmaja Reddy, and 15 representatives of the Youth and Students for Peace (YSP) from The University of the South Pacific in Fiji.
Prior to the IAPP conference UPF representatives visited the Office of the Prime Minister of Fiji and extended an invitation to attend the Asia-Pacific Summit 2019 in Cambodia and the World Summit 2020 in South Korea.