[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 105 (Monday, June 8, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S2765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





[[Page S2765]]

       SENATE RESOLUTION 610--RECOGNIZING THAT FOR 50 YEARS, THE 
       REPUBLIC OF FIJI HAS WORKED WITH THE UNITED STATES TOWARD 
      STABILITY, PROSPERITY, AND PEACE IN THE PACIFIC AND BEYOND, 
     AND EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE UNITED STATES 
        WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN A STRONG, RELIABLE, AND ACTIVE 
                         PARTNER IN THE PACIFIC

  Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Ms. Hirono) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 610

       Whereas Fiji became independent of the United Kingdom on 
     October 10, 1970;
       Whereas Fiji is a valued security partner of the United 
     States, participating in the International Military Education 
     and Training (IMET) program, which sends members of the 
     Republic of Fiji Military Forces to professional military 
     education courses in the United States;
       Whereas the Republic of Fiji Military Forces deployed to 
     Australia in January 2020 to assist with the Australian 
     bushfires and look to contribute to future United Nations 
     peacekeeping operations;
       Whereas Fiji participates in workshops sponsored by United 
     States Indo-Pacific Command covering international 
     humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief 
     (HADR), maritime security, peacekeeping, and search and 
     rescue operations;
       Whereas, since signing a shiprider agreement with Fiji in 
     2019, the United States has hosted Fijian shipriders on 
     United States Navy and Coast Guard vessels;
       Whereas the United States Government supports strengthening 
     cooperative activities with the Government of Fiji, including 
     sustainable fisheries management and those authorized by the 
     Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-109);
       Whereas section 1252 of the National Defense Authorization 
     Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92) expands the 
     number of countries that receive assistance under the Indo-
     Pacific Maritime Security Initiative, including Fiji;
       Whereas a peaceful, prosperous, and open Indo-Pacific 
     rooted in a rule-based order that promotes security, 
     opportunity, and dignity to all peoples benefits the people 
     of both the United States and Fiji;
       Whereas Fiji restored democratic governance in 2014;
       Whereas over 30,000 United States citizens trace their 
     roots to Fiji, and many of these reside in California;
       Whereas Fiji has hosted the Peace Corps since 1968;
       Whereas Des Plaines, Illinois, and Nailuva, Fiji, are 
     sister cities, a broad-based, long-term partnership to 
     promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and 
     cooperation centered on people-to-people exchanges; and
       Whereas the Nevada National Guard entered into a State 
     Partnership Program with Fiji in 2019: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the Republic of Fiji on a successful return to 
     democracy and 2 elections deemed to be free and fair by 
     international observers;
       (2) supports and affirms the full implementation of 
     provisions of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 
     (Public Law 115-409) with regard to deepening its cooperation 
     with Fiji in areas of mutual interest, including fisheries 
     and marine resource conservation, environmental challenges 
     and resilience, global health, development and trade, and 
     people-to-people ties, as well as continuing United States 
     assistance, as appropriate, to support the rule of law, good 
     governance, and economic development; and
       (3) recognizes Fiji's participation in multinational 
     security forces and multilateral institutions, including the 
     United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World 
     Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Atomic 
     Energy Agency, the World Trade Organization, the Pacific 
     Community, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional 
     Environmental Programme, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

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