Fiji–Russia relations refers to bilateral relations between
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
and
Russia. Neither country has a resident ambassador, the Ambassador of Russia in Fiji is
Alexander Blokhin
Alexander Viktorovich Blokhin (russian: Александр Викторович Блохин) (born 12 January 1951 in Ivanovo, RSFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian diplomat. He served as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Rus ...
who also is the Ambassador to Australia,
Vanuatu and
Nauru
Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...
. He is stationed in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, Australia.
History
Fiji had established diplomatic relations with the
Soviet Union on January 30, 1974 but there was almost no sense of any relations between the two. But it was only after a deterioration of relations between Fiji and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand along with the United States in 2009, Fiji began to strengthen its ties with both
Russia and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
On February 8, 2010 Ambassador
Isikeli Mataitoga
Isikeli Uluinairai Mataitoga is Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal of Fiji. He was appointed as a Justice of Appeal on 27 March 2023.
He was a Fijian diplomat and former Ambassador of Fiji to Japan, he was concurrently the non-reside ...
presented credentials to Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
. The ambassador had met with a number of Russian officials including Alexey Borodavkin, the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, and senior officials of the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal Fisheries Agency and the Russian Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting was intended to foster cooperation between Russia and Fiji in the areas of trade and investment and to increase bilateral ties between the two countries. In May 2010, a group consisting of Fiji lawyers and Russian businessmen met with a view of establishing the Fiji Russian Business Council.
In early 2016, Fiji and Russia have made an arms deal worth $8.8M to rearm the
Republic of Fiji Military Forces.
The 20th of September, 2021 Dr Philipp G. Khanin was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Fiji in Saint Petersburg. The Consul district includes Saint Petersburg, Republic of Karelia, Republic of Komi, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, Pskov regions, Nenets Autonomous Area.
High-level visits
In February 2012, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sergey Lavrov visited Fiji in the first-ever visit of a high-level official.
References
Russia
Bilateral relations of Russia
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