French Ambassador to Fiji Mr. Sujiro Seam says one of our missions is the sovereignty mission and that is to patrol our Exclusive Economic Zone.
While speaking in an interview on board the BSAOM D’Entrecasteaux, Mr. Seam says our second mission is that we work with our partners in terms of bilateral corporations and joint exercises as these are crucial in making sure we have the best possible coverage of our EEZ.
Mr. Seam says during the Pacific Defence Ministers meeting last month, they also discussed the main challenges in the region which are illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, drug trafficking, climate change, and natural disasters.
He says the French Navy vessel visits the Fiji waters quite often and that’s vital for the two countries to build its relationship, increase capacity and share competencies.