Last Friday Pope Francis met the President of Fiji, Jioji Konousi Konrote, in a private audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
Konrote presented Pope Francis with a lali (Fiji wooden gong) carved from a mahogany tree that once stood outside Fiji’s state-house that was destroyed by Cyclone Winston.
“The wooden lali carving was symbolic to summon the world to take action on climate change,” Mr Konrote said.
Konrote, also met with with the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
Described as fruitful and inspiring for Fiji the unprecedented long encounter centred on the existing good relations between the Holy See and Fiji, the positive contribution of the Catholic Church in Fiji to nation building and Fiji’s upcoming global responsibilities on Oceans and climate change.
The President was in Rome to attend the United Nations World Water Day.
He told the meeting there was plenty to glean from Fiji’s own experience in increasing access to water and sanitation, particularly in the context of climate resilient development.
He said small nations are disproportionately affected by the impact of climate change, he urged that resilience be kept at the top of the agenda in any deliberation of how best to advance access to sanitation services.
“Developing countries need support to make that happen. That needs to arrive in the form of funding, technical training and assistance and the transfer of relevant technologies.”
Jioji Konousi Konrote, widely know as George, was elected president by the parliament of Fiji on October 2015.
He is a retired major general and has had long and distinguished career as a military officer, an international peacekeeper, a senior civil servant, diplomat and politician.
Konrote’s election was historic not just because of his a Seventh Day Adventist faith but also because of his minority Rotuman ethnicity and his lack of chiefly ancestry.
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