Nauru

In a televised speech Monday, President Aingimea said declaration was made following advice from Cabinet and the Council.

In a national address over the weekend, he also said the Government is taking every step possible to ensure the protection of its people against the coronavirus.

President Aingimea said a quarantine area is being set up at public health.

“You will see lots of work happening there. We have toured certain areas at topside to see if there are places there feasible for quarantine purposes.”

The team will be led by Pita Vuki, Supervisor of Elections and Commissioner, Tonga Electoral Commission and supported by officials from the Forum Secretariat.

Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor, thanked the Government of Vanuatu for the invitation to observe the election. “I commend Vanuatu for its commitment to the transparency of its electoral processes, and I am pleased to note that Vanuatu is demonstrating consistency through the inclusion of independent observers in its elections”

Effective immediately from 3 March 2020, anyone travelling from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea and Italy in the past 21 days will not be allowed into Nauru.

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, the travel restriction and measures will remain in place until a new issuance.

The World Health Organisation reports more than 93,000 people have been infected in more than 80 countries.

Four new Member States (Argentina, Chile, Poland and Ukraine) have reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

The minister said the Government was delighted with the significant increase in the value of its Intergenerational Trust Fund during the 2019 financial year.

“The growth rate represents an increase of around 31 per cent – or $26.4 million – from the 2018 financial year, which is a fantastic outcome for all Nauruans,” he said.

The meeting was held at the Civic Centre conference hall, 7-8 January.

Desperate Imagination, the theme of the conference expands to the wider vision of a trade component of the meeting and to bring industries to Nauru.

“I must stress that the very concept of desperate imagination is not about hopelessness but about the desire to think outside the box and to help with driving the nation towards sustainability... hence attract direct foreign investment,” President Aingimea said in his closing remarks on 8 January.

Ms Tsai has secured a second term as President.

 “You are a great friend of Nauru & the Pacific region & we look forward to continuing to stand with Taiwan & stand up for democracy across the world,” the Nauru Government tweeted on its Twitter account.

In response the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan thanked Nauru for the warm congratulatory message.

The pact was inked by Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung and visiting Nauru President Lionel Aingimea at a ceremony witnessed by President Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office in Taipei.

Under the agreement, all commercial flight operators from Taiwan and Nauru will be allowed to operate inbound and outbound flight services between the two countries.

According to Tsai, Nauru Airlines in November sent its representatives to Taiwan to discuss airline cooperation, such as extending flight routes to Taipei.

Aingimea arrived in Taiwan on Friday for a five-day state visit, his third to Taiwan and first as president.

In an exclusive interview with the CNA on Saturday, Aingimea said bilateral relations are significant and reiterated that he sees Taiwan as family, which he also told Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen during a welcome banquet Friday.

"When you start using words like family, it takes it up to a different level, a level that ensures that when things happen within family, family sticks together," Aingimea said.

Of Taiwan’s 15 remaining official diplomatic allies, four are located in the Pacific, namely the Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Palau and Nauru. Earlier this year, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched recognition to China.

Speaking during a meeting with participants in the 2019 Pacific Islands Leadership Programme in Taipei Tuesday, Chen said that apart from contributing to scholarships and to regional development plans, Taiwan would also launch the healthcare fund.

The ceremony took place in Nauru on 12 November.

The Embassy of Russia in Canberra, Australia tweeted that at the meeting held after the official ceremony, various aspects of Russian-Nauruan relations as well as prospects for strengthening cooperation in international matters were discussed.

“Mutual commitment to traditional friendly relations between Russia and Nauru was reaffirmed.”

Ambassador Pavlovsky also paid courtesy calls to Cabinet Ministers during his visit.

Photo Facebook/ Embassy of Russia in Australia