Ambassador to Fiji says Peace Corps moving forward to re-establish programme in Fiji later this year
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Fiji a traditional friend: Lyons
Tuesday January 07, 2003
The new United States Ambassador to Fiji, David Lyon arrived in Nadi yesterday.
Mr Lyon will also be representing Tonga, Tuvalu and the Republic of Nauru.
Speaking from California before he left for Nadi, Mr Lyon said Fiji has been a traditional friend and trading partner of the US since the first European and American ships arrived in the South Pacific in the mid-19th Century.
He said Fiji has played a significant role alongside American soldiers from the Solomons in World War II to peacekeeping missions around the world, including Sinai today.
“After a 10-year hiatus, I am delighted the Peace Corps is moving forward to re-establish its programme in Fiji later this year,” he said.
While swearing in Mr Lyon last month, the US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Mr Lyon brings to Fiji “deep experience in Asia and the Pacific, earned over the course of a 28-year career that has taken him to the Philippines, Thailand, and China, among other postings”.
Mr Powell said Mr Lyon’s previous position as US Consul General in Melbourne, Australia gave him a “window into the current personalities and politics of the Pacific Islands”.
Mr Powell went on to emphasise the importance of Ambassador Lyon’s mission, saying “David is taking on a big job. It’s not just the geographic range – four countries covering nearly a million square miles of the Pacific; it’s the importance that President (George) Bush and the American people attribute to our relations with these four island nations and their people that makes David’s job so significant”.
“Fiji is a traditional friend and partner that punches above its weight on the world stage.
“The international community values and respects the service of Fijian peacekeepers around the world,” Mr Powell said during the swearing in.
Ambassador Lyon expressed his enthusiasm for his new job and for the country in which he will serve.
He said while preparing for moving to Fiji, he had clearly been led to understand that “Fiji’s natural beauty is matched only by the friendliness of its people”.
He also observed that “tens of thousands of Americans visit this beautiful country each year as tourists, with others travelling here for business, academic, or personal reasons.”
Mr Lyon replaces former US Ambassador Osman Siddique who left the country in June last year.
The Embassy’s Charge d’ Affaires (acting ambassador) will remain in Suva and serve as Mr Lyon’s deputy.
Ambassador Lyon is accompanied to Fiji with his wife Maureen Gomes Lyon. They have two children, Nathan and Jo who are university students in Australia.
He is expected to present his credential to the President Ratu Josefa Iloilo on Thursday.
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