Fiji PM Rabuka lands in India for 3-day visit; key talks with Modi set for Monday

Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka on Sunday kick-started his three-day visit to India that is aimed at shoring up bilateral ties in areas such as trade and investment.

It is Rabuka's first trip to India in his capacity as the prime minister of the South Pacific nation.

The Fijian leader was welcomed at the airport here by Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar.

The Fijian leader is accompanied by a high-level delegation that included health minister Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu and several senior officials.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with Rabuka on Monday. He will also host a lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary.

"The visit will further deepen India-Fiji partnership across diverse sectors," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X.

Fiji is an important nation for India in the sphere of maritime security. The two nations have a strong cultural and people-to-people ties.

India's links with Fiji began in 1879 when Indian labourers were taken to Fiji under the indenture system by the British Rabuka's visit to India comes a year after President Droupadi Murmu travelled to Fiji.

Prime Minister Rabuka's visit underscores the longstanding and enduring ties between India and Fiji, an Indian readout said on Thursday.

"It reaffirms the continued commitment of both countries to further strengthen the bilateral relationship across all sectors and deepen our close people-to-people ties," it said.