Fiji's Deputy PM Biman Prasad arrives in Delhi for week-long India visit

The Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, Biman Prasad, arrived in New Delhi late on Sunday night, kicking off his week-long visit to India.

Upon reaching the national capital, Prasad was welcomed by the Ministry of External Affairs' JS Indo Pacific, Paramita Tripathi.

Following his arrival, the official spokesperson of the MEA, Randhir Jaiswal in a post on X, wrote, "Advancing India-Fiji ties!"

"A warm welcome to Deputy PM @bimanprasad of Fiji as he arrives in New Delhi on an official visit," he added.

The Deputy PM of Fiji, who also serves as the Minister of Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development, and Statistics for his country, is the first foreign leader to visit Ayodhya after the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony on January 22.

His visit to India will span from February 4 to 10, departing on February 11.

He will meet the Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs and Education, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Monday, along with a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Prasad will participate in a programme in the national capital on February 6 and head to Goa on February 7 for another event.

On February 8, he is scheduled to visit Ayodhya, as stated by the MEA.

On February 9, Prasad will depart for Ahmedabad, followed by a visit to Gandhinagar.

Prasad had previously visited India in February 2023. It was his first official trip to India. During that visit, he participated in a high-level Ministerial Session on 'Strategies for a Sustainable and Decarbonised Future.'

During the discussions, he highlighted the urgent need for global action on decarbonisation if the world is to genuinely fight issues like climate change, which is having devastating impacts on the lives and livelihoods of people in small developing island countries like Fiji.

Prasad also called upon the developed world to support affordable technology transfer to facilitate a smooth and economically feasible energy transition.