On May 13, Robert Lee, Fiji Ambassador to China, visited Hainan and met with officials from the Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province (Hainan FAO). Dai Zhen, the Director-General of the Hainan FAO, held a meeting with Ambassador Lee, during which they discussed enhancing exchanges and cooperation between Hainan and Fiji in various sectors.

Dai Zhen first welcomed Ambassador Lee and his delegation during their visit to Hainan. She pointed out that in recent years, Hainan and Fiji have engaged in active exchanges across fields such as culture, tourism, and education. As tropical island regions, the two share similarities and complement each other in terms of geographical features and resources.

After providing a brief overview of the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) and the province’s major industrial parks following the start of special customs operations, Dai expressed Hainan's willingness to share its experiences in opening-up and development with Fiji. She suggested leveraging the FTP's preferential policies and the scientific and technological strengths of institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences and Hainan University to foster meaningful cooperation in tropical agriculture, fisheries, tourism, education, and cultural exchanges.

She mentioned that the Hainan FAO is open to collaborating with the Embassy of Fiji to China to enhance personnel exchanges and practical industrial cooperation between both parties.

Robert Lee agreed with Dai’s proposals. He highlighted that Fiji highly appreciates Hainan’s achievements in reform, opening-up, and development, and considers the Hainan FTP a key partner for cooperation. Fiji is actively working to boost regional growth, especially on Vanua Levu, known as the “Northern Island,” and is eager to enhance exchanges and collaboration with Hainan in areas such as fisheries, tourism, education, culture, sports, and infrastructure.

Lee mentioned that Fiji is interested in learning from Hainan’s expertise in coconut industry development, tropical crop cultivation, and aquaculture processing. Fiji also invites Chinese and Hainan companies to invest and operate in Fiji. He noted that the Fijian Embassy to China will continue to serve as a bridge, helping Fijian government and business delegations visit Hainan as needed to promote closer exchanges and practical cooperation between the two.

This is Ambassador Lee’s first official visit to Hainan since taking office. During his stay, he and his delegation will also visit cities and counties, including Wenchang and Haikou, for further exchanges.

The Republic of Fiji is situated in the central South Pacific Ocean, covering an area of 18,300 square kilometers. It comprises 332 islands and has an estimated population of about 890,000. Fiji is one of the more economically developed Pacific island nations, benefiting from abundant fishery, forest resources, and mineral deposits such as gold, silver, copper, and bauxite. The economy mainly relies on the sugar and tourism industries.