China offers leadership training for senior Fijian officials

Twenty-five senior officials working in the Fijian government and statutory institutions will leave for China on Wednesday as part of the second cohort to undertake leadership training, the Fijian government announced Tuesday. Yang Zhaohui, charge d'affaire of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji and Parmesh Chand, permanent secretary of Fiji's Public Service Commission met with the China-bound senior Fijian officials on Tuesday for a briefing session. The training will be beneficial in theory and practice, Yang said, urging participants to make full use of this learning opportunity. Chand urged the senior officials to take this opportunity to see, learn and acquire the necessary skills that would allow them to return home and make a difference at their respective workplaces. The officials are scheduled to spend three days in Guangzhou, China from Thursday to Saturday to attend the 2nd China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum. The Fijian officials will leave on Saturday for China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP) in Shanghai for their leadership training, which will be the same as the first batch of 20 trainees who received 14-day training in the academy in September. A total of 300 senior Fijian officials will be trained in China from within Fiji's civil service and statutory organizations over a three-year period, the Fijian government announced earlier this year. Officially opened in March, 2005, China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong is a Shanghai-based national institution funded by the central government of China and supervised by Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. The training it provides is for senior leaders from government and top executives from the business community.