President-elect Major General Jioji Konrote will be officially sworn in as President of the Republic of Fiji today.
President-elect Major General Jioji Konrote will be officially sworn in as President of the Republic of Fiji today.
Konrote is the former Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Minister.
The ceremony will be held in the State Room at Government House in Suva.
Meanwhile, following his six year tenure as President of Fiji Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has been selected for another distinguished appointment.
He will be honoured with the title of UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador.
The official appointment is expected to be made on the 1st of next month, which is World Aids Day.
Since 2005 the advocacy work on HIV carried out by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has been widely recognised.
UNAIDS Pacific Director Roberto Campos said they will honour the work he has done by bestowing on him the title of Goodwill Ambassador.
“And we have the great honour to nominate Ratu Epeli as ambassador of Goodwill, UNAIDS Goodwill ambassador for HIV in the next 3 years, this is our intention in fact one of our Deputy Director Jan Beagle is coming to visit Fiji, so she’ll stay here from Monday to Friday and so she will officially deliver or nominate Ratu Epeli”
Aside from being a leading activist in the region, Ratu Epeli was also considered for the position because of his work particularly with students.
“He started to think to consider the importance to have a strong work on HIV prevention principally among the youth, he was one of the first of the first to envisage the importance to notice to say words to the Youth in terms of how important it is for them to protect themselves against the virus and how they can protect themselves and treat themselves in term of wellbeing of Fiji population”.
Among the functions of his two year appointment is also lobbying for changes to HIV AIDS policies.
“Advocacy, fundraising and mobilising the policy-makers to keep AIDS as one of the priorities, keep an eye on the HIV epidemic”
Ratu Epeli will be the first person in the region to hold the designation of UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador.