China offers assistance to support Fijian President at COP- 23

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama Thursday received a FJD$224,000 (US$108,136) cheque donation from Chinese Ambassador Zhang Ping in support of Fiji’s presidency at the 23rd Session of the Conference of Parties (COP 23) to the UN Convention on Climate Change.

The donation will be placed directly into an account established by the Fijian Government to finance Fiji’s efforts to effectively carry out the role of COP-23 President in Bonn, Germany in 2017.

Prime Minister Bainimarama welcomed China’s support, which he said would be of great assistance as Fiji begins preparatory work for the COP-23 presidency.

“Fiji has set out a bold presidential vision for COP-23 that will require significant financial and technical support from the international community to successfully enact. I would like to thank the Government of the People’s Republic of China for demonstrating a strong commitment to that vision “, he said.

In presenting the cheque donation, Ambassador Ping said that China intends to lend its support to ensure that developing countries have a voice in all climate change talks.

“This donation is to promote the cause of climate change. China wants to do whatever it can to join all developing countries to fight against climate change,” Ambassador Ping said.

Ambassador Ping added that China has also set up a fund for South-South cooperation to help developing countries fight against climate change and to boost China’s engagement with developing counties on climate change issues.

SOURCE: DEPTFO NEWS