[Photo: Supplied]

India is continuing to support Fiji’s development, with initiatives in healthcare, agriculture and food security aimed at improving essential services and strengthening local livelihoods.

Indian High Commissioner to Fiji, Suneet Mehta, says one of the key projects is the 100-bed super-speciality hospital being established in Suva, which he describes as India’s largest development project in Fiji and the wider Pacific region.

India is also working towards providing dialysis machines and a sea ambulance for Fiji, while continuing to support the country’s response to the HIV epidemic through the supply of antiretroviral medicines.

In agriculture, India has provided five tonnes of black-eyed cowpea seeds, helping bring 750 acres of farmland under cultivation and supporting farmers’ livelihoods. The initiative has also enabled Fiji to become an exporter of cowpea seeds in the Pacific.

India has also handed over 12 agricultural drones to the Fiji Sugar Corporation, introducing spraying technology to Fiji, alongside specialised training and technical assistance for more than 65 FSC personnel.

“And I was told by FSC people that what takes three days manually to fertilise one hectare of land could be done in seven minutes with that drone.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs Charan Jeath Singh says cooperation between the two countries has expanded beyond historical and cultural ties to include healthcare, agriculture, education, technology, climate resilience and human resource development.

Singh says agricultural assistance is particularly important for rural communities, where farming remains a major source of livelihood and economic opportunity.

Mehta says the initiatives build on the momentum generated by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s visit to India in August last year, with both countries continuing to strengthen cooperation across key development sectors.