FIJI’S ROADMAP TO DEMOCRACY

Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama will attend the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) meeting in Vanuatu this week to present his roadmap towards returning the country to democratic rule
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Preferential Trade Agreement is a trade treaty governing the four melanesian states of
FIJI PLANS NEW CONSTITUTION Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and recently, Fiji Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Bainimarama said on the country’s Constitution would begin in September 2012 in preparation for the general election in 2014. The new Constitution must include provisions that will entrench common and equal citizenry, it must not have ethnic based voting; the voting age shall be 18; and, it must have systems that hold governments accountable with more checks. OBAMA ACCEPTS MANMOHAN’S INVITATION TO VISIT INDIA L’Aquila, Italy, United States President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit India, dates for which will be finalised through diplomatic channels.U.N. reforms,Mr. Obama also endorsed Dr. Singh’s fresh calls for urgent U.N. reforms saying the global community would have to "update and refresh and renew" international institutions like the world body that were set up in a different time and place. 15TH NAM SUMMIT AT SHARM EL-SHEIKH IN EGYPT
INDIA’S PROPOSAL ON KEY ISSUES Financial crisis gives NAM new relevance – India, NAM-"A moral force for equitable transformation of today’s world" 1. ON FINANCIAL
Dr. Singh said the developing countries had been the hardest hit by the crisis which "emanated from the advanced industrial economies" and had strengthened protectionism and choked credit and capital flows to the third world. "If the aftermath of the crisis is not carefully managed, and if the abundance of liquidity leads to a revival of speculative activities, we may well see a period of prolonged stagflation," the Prime Minister warned. CRISIS the 118-nation grouping must ensure the steps planned to revive the global economy take into account the developing world’s concerns. 2. ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The weight of NAM should be used to achieve "a comprehensive, balanced and above all, equitable outcome" in the ongoing multilateral negotiations leading up to the Copenhagen conference in December this year. too, he blamed the "over two centuries of industrial activity and unsustainable lifestyles in the developed world" for the threat posed to the planet by the accumulation of greenhouse gases. 3. ON UNO The Prime Minister criticised the fact that "decision-making processes" at the United Nations and in international financial institutions "continue to be based on charters written more than 60 years ago, though the world has changed greatly since then." Page 5 of 51 4. ON AFRICA’S PROBLEMS He said NAM should work to prioritise Africa’s problems in the global development agenda. On its part, India was committed to developing a comprehensive partnership with the continent. 5.ON PALESTINIAN ISSUE Echoing the strong sentiment within NAM in support of Palestinian aspirations, the Prime Minister began his remarks by saying his "thoughts turn to the people of Palestine, who have endured great suffering and hardship." "The movement," he said, "must do more to facilitate a comprehensive, just, lasting and peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue." 6. ON TERRORISM, he stressed the long-standing Indian demand for speedy agreement on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. "Terrorists and those who aid and abet them must be brought to justice," he said. "The infrastructure of terrorism must be dismantled and there should be no safe havens for terrorists because they do not represent any cause, group of religion." NAM :FIRST LADIES’ MEET DISCUSSES CHALLENGES TO WOMEN Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, at the NAM First Ladies’ summit on "Role of Women in Crisis Management" in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur, held a parallel meeting to deliberate on human trafficking and other problems confronting women. Opening the NAM First Ladies Summit, Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak said the nations faced a "very dangerous situation" in which 51 million more people, of whom 22 million were women, could lose their jobs by the end of 2009. "Women are the most negatively and disproportionately impacted by these interconnected challenges, especially in developing countries. While some are veering dangerously close towards the poverty line, others are fighting daily battles to survive," said Ms. Mubarak, wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "Young girls are dropping out of schools to help their families make ends meet," she said saying these girls would become more vulnerable to forced labour, abuse and human trafficking.