UN General Assembly
2016

We market ourselves to the world as a holiday destination with the slogan “Fiji — where happiness finds you”. Whatever the challenges of Cyclone Winston, I can confidently say that the Fijian people have never been happier. The joy that erupted when our world-champion rugby sevens team won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics was shared by every Fijian. It has brought us together in celebration and seen us more unified in recent weeks than at any other time in our history. It has also inspired us to imagine what else our small nation can do if we put our minds to it. As many in the Assembly are aware, we have had considerable challenges through the years in forging a common identity and producing an equal and just society for every citizen, but I am here to say that those days are over. As Fiji approaches its first half-century as an independent nation in 2020, we are finally one nation, one people, with a great sense of national optimism and a great deal to look forward to.