Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and his delegation visited the 8th/9th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (8/9 RAR), Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane this morning where he was briefed on the operations of the motorised infantry battalion.
Currently, there are 42 military personnel from Fiji who are on a two-month secondment with 8/9 RAR for mobile and operations training.
Subsequently, 15 Australian military personnel are in Fiji as part of the Fiji-Australia defence and security cooperation.
Accompanying the Prime Minister was Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry, International Development and the Pacific, Hon. Pat Conroy.
Prime Minister Rabuka and his delegation were also provided with a guided tour of the facility and had to opportunity to experience an operational demonstration in the field inside the bushmasters.
The Australian Government has donated 14 additional Protected Mobility Vehicles (Bushmasters) to support Fiji’s international peacekeeping operations.
Prime Minister Rabuka welcomed Australia’s responsiveness to our needs and acknowledged that this supports our ambitions in the security sector.
