Fijian High Commissioner's Special Visit To Te Whānau o Waipareira

The Fijian High Commissioner to New Zealand made a special visit to gain more knowledge on supporting indigenous communities from Te Whānau o Waipareira in West Auckland this morning.

His Excellency Ratu Inoke Kubuabola was accompanied by Nik Naidu and Rachel Mario, founders of Fijian diaspora in Auckland and Josua Tuware, the Second Secretary at the Fiji High Commission in Wellington.

“We came up three days ago attending several meetings in Auckland, and this is probably the most important meeting for me. We have been trying to link up with iwi groups and we are very grateful for this morning”.

His Excellency has spent three days in Auckland visiting various businesses but was purposeful in his appointment with Te Whānau o Waipareira.

“I thank Nik and his wife Rachel for connecting us to your group. We would like to learn what you are doing for Māori and we would like to do the same for our people in Fiji. I see you are so advanced in what you are doing, we would like to learn as much as we can and we also invite you Mr Tamihere to visit Fiji soon. We have a good Government and our Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka believes in affirmative action for iTaukei’s (major indigenous peoples of Fiji) in businesses and also education and other aspects of life”.

Te Whānau o Waipareira CE, John Tamihere appreciates the history between the two countries.

“We are looking at direct economic and social interchanges with our Fijian friends and counterparts to strengthen our already resilient relationships. This is a mutual meeting between our two countries and I look forward to many more that I know will be highly beneficial to our indigenous peoples on both sides of the pacific”.