Home Affairs permanent secretary Mason Smith says a partnership with the Fiji National University will help Government in its war on human trafficking and illicit drugs.

He said this in the wake of the singing of a Memorandum of Understanding between FNU and the Home Affairs Ministry this week.

Mr Smith said the MoU marked a milestone in the ministry’s capacity building efforts, given the many challenges they faced on various fronts.

“We continue to lose skilled workers to regional countries including Australia and New Zealand,” the PS said.

“There is a need to train and produce more skilled workers in all sectors of our society so that we do not bring in skilled workers from overseas to take over from our citizens.”

Mr Smith said the partnership would go a long way in addressing some of the ministry’s training needs and he looked forward to the first cohort of students from the ministry that would join FNU to further their education and training.

“It is my intention to reach out to academia to seek your input and expertise as we draft and review policy issues that affect the safety and security of our citizens.”

He said the ministry was focusing on the war on drugs, where they have consulted widely, and would continue consulting FNU in the ministry’s bid to train those that would be at the forefront of the war against drugs.

Mr Smith said while the ministry lacked the resources to curb human trafficking, they were looking forward to FNU providing capacity building for Fijian Defense force members.

FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba said the agreement formalised their shared vision, “outlining a framework for cooperation in research and development, policy analysis and critique, and scientific exploration within the realm of national security.”

“This collaboration will be instrumental in supporting the Ministry’s development of critical defence and national security policies,” she said.