Dr William McInerney spent a week in Suva the capital of Fiji, at the invitation of the British High Commission, to engage with diverse representative groups to hear their views and understanding around the Prime Minister of Fiji’s concept of the Pacific as an Ocean of Peace. The visit was facilitated by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office with the endorsement of the Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
The UK delegation of academics specialising in Peace-Studies and Peace Building, from the universities of Bradford, Oxford, Winchester and LSE was led by Professor Sue Farran of Newcastle University, who is currently a UKRI funded Research Fellow at the FCDO, based in the Asia Pacific Research Group. The intended outcome of the visit is a research product which will be useful to the MOFA for taking forward the idea of the Pacific as a Zone of Peace within and beyond Fiji.