The government has today signed the Exchange of Notes with the Japanese government for a second stand-by disaster loan financing of around FJD$72.0 million, which will assist in any future needs for disaster recovery and rehabilitation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad said Japan has greatly supported Fiji with its development aspirations.

“Over the years, Japan has greatly supported Fiji with its development aspirations, including investments in infrastructure development, support in social sectors like education & health, collaboration in disaster response and resilience building and more recently in mobilizing Japanese private sector investment with 44 per cent equity stake in Energy Fiji Limited”

He said the highly concessional financing has a repayment term of 40 years, including a 10-year grace period and an interest rate of 0.40% per annum.

“During times of crisis, like the COVID pandemic and natural disasters, Japan has always stood beside Fiji with direct financial and technical support through JICA and the Japanese Government and also indirectly through the Asian Development Bank as its major shareholder.”

The Deputy Prime Minister also stressed that as a country prone to frequent natural disasters and adverse effects of climate change, we have to be always prepared.

The Japanese Ambassador to Fiji Rokuichiro Michii highlighted Japan’s commitment to supporting Fiji’s disaster resilience and recovery plans

The standby loan facility is designed to meet the country’s financial needs during the rehabilitation period after natural disasters.