Fiji, Japan sign emergency loan agreement

Suva, Feb 22 (IANS) Fiji and Japan signed an emergency loan agreement here on Monday, which will allow Fiji to get the 200 million Fijian dollars loan from Japan.

According to a statement from the Fijian government, during the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said that the best way to build resilience over the long-term is to bring Fiji's Covid-hit economy fully back to life and this loan will allow the island nation to further strengthen its Covid defences, particularly its public health systems, Xinhua reported.

The loan, which is the largest in Japan's loan history of aid and assistance to Fiji, comes with concessions such as a 0.01 percent interest rate and 15 years of repayment period with 4 years grace period.

Covid-19 has seriously impacted upon Fiji's economy which contracted by 19 per cent last year.

Fiji has had 56 cases in total, with 54 recoveries and 2 deaths, since its first case was reported on March 19 last year. The last 38 cases have been international travel associated cases detected in border quarantine.

Currently, Fiji still maintains a strict travel restriction for foreign visitors alongside a nationwide curfew effective from March 30 last year.