Fiji prime ministerial candidate promises closer Israel ties

A prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming Fijian elections has promised to strengthen the Pacific island’s relations with Israel by building the country’s first embassy in the Jewish state.

Fiji Unity party leader Savenaca Narube told supporters last week it was time to upgrade Fiji’s “close relations and ties with the Israeli government,” by building an embassy in Israel and sending a ambassador there, the Fiji Times reported on Sunday.

Narube, who is vying for the top spot in Fiji’s November 14 elections, did not say whether his planned embassy would be located in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem — where the US recently moved its embassy, angering the Palestinians — or in the central city of Tel Aviv, which houses most foreign missions.

Fiji is located 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) northeast of New Zealand, has full diplomatic relations with Israel but currently only has consulate in Tel Aviv with no ambassador leading the mission. Israel likewise has a consulate in Suva, Fiji’s capital, but no embassy.

The tiny island nation — which has some 910,000 inhabitants, slightly more than Jerusalem —  has provided troops to UN peacekeeping operations on the Israeli-Syrian border and in Lebanon, in the Golan Heights and in Egypt and Iraq, since 1978.

In October 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Fijian Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama in Jerusalem and thanked him for his country’s support for Israel in multilateral organizations.

“There is a bond between our two peoples. We’re not gigantic peoples but we aim big and we are glad that we have the opportunity to cooperate with you in a variety of efforts,” Netanyahu said.

A month later, Netanyahu announced that he would be making the first visit of an Israeli premier to the Republic of Fiji, as part of a planned visit to Singapore and Australia in early February 2015.

Netanyahu said relations with Fiji were important as part of a bid to bolster Israel’s standing in international forums such as the United Nations.

“Why am I going to Fiji? Because fifteen countries, fifteen islands that each one has a vote in the UN are coming to that meeting,” Netanyahu said at the time during a videoconference with American Jewish leaders.

The visit to Fiji was later cancelled with the Prime Minister’s Office citing scheduling difficulties.