The ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme is an initiative of the African Caribbean Pacific Group of States and the European Union. It is coordinated through the UNDP-Fiji Office.
Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Hon. Ashneel Sudhakar made these comments while opening the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme Workshop implemented in partnership with United National Development Programme (UNDP).
Hon. Minister highlighted that the ACP-EU Development Minerals has seen a number of progresses since its inception and has brought some tremendous support to the Ministry of Lands and Minerals Resources Department.
“The staff from Lands and Mineral Resources Department were the main recipients from this program and have been supported by its implementation through numerous trainings and workshops that covered a broad spectrum of disciplines,”
“The programme has also assisted the Ministry in raising awareness to landowners on Neglected Development Minerals (NDM),” Hon. Sudhakar says.
He adds some of the Mineral Resources Department (MRD) staff were able to join the Certificate IV in Mining and Quarry successfully implemented under this Programme in partnership with the Fiji National University. Some promising individuals from the course have also recently joined MRD to undertake on the job-training mining.
Hon. Sudhakar reassured the strong support of the Fiji Government to the private sector and interested Small Scale Enterprise.
“We will continue to support the sectors through a national inventory of our resources and diffusion of the information through various mediums to ensure a realistic realization of NDM to the nation as a whole,” Hon. Sudhakar concludes.