June 23, 2007

Vitusagavulu ready to head home

www.fijitimes.com - Friday, June 22, 2007

FIJI's High Commissioner to the United States and Canada is satisfied with the achievements of the Commission during his brief stint as Fiji's representative in Washington DC.

Jesoni Vitusagavulu finished off officially on Wednesday after serving 22 months of his three-year appointment.

''I wish I was allowed to complete my term as there was still a lot to be done,'' Mr Vitusagavulu said in a statement from Washington.

A major goal of the Washington mission in 2006 was to reverse the decline in exports to the US, the statement said.

This had dropped from F$261.5million in 2004 to $176.6million in 2005 - a big drop of 32 per cent, due to the decline in garment exports following the expiry of the garment quota system.

''My brief was to refocus the activities of the mission to support export and investment growth in order to stimulate the economy and increase employment,'' said Mr Vitusagavulu, who was recruited from the private sector to take up the post.

Exports to the US in 2006 totaled F$170million, a slight decrease of F$7million or four per cent compared to 2005.

No comments: