SUVA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's Minister for Foreign Affairs Inia Seruiratu on Wednesday called on other Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) foreign ministers to prioritize establishing a sub-regional response team for humanitarian and disaster relief response.
Speaking at the MSG Foreign Ministers Meeting in Suva on Wednesday, Seruiratu said Fiji is working with Australia and a range of partners on the redevelopment of a camp in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city as a center for peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
According to a statement from the Department of Information, Seruiratu said regular occurrence of natural disasters in the region has come at a heavy cost to its people, infrastructure and health systems.
He said he was proud of the individual efforts of MSG members in mobilizing support for Australia in a timely manner to respond to bushfires recently and that a lot was achieved.
He said the capacity to pull together the sub-regional response team for humanitarian and disaster relief response is well within reach and should be prioritized.
The MSG Foreign Ministers Meeting ended on Wednesday.
