On October 27, 2020, diplomats and policymakers came together to celebrate the Republic of Fiji’s accession to INBAR, at a flag-raising ceremony outside the Organisation’s Headquarters in Beijing. The event was well attended, with representatives from INBAR Member States and other Pacific countries, as well as from INBAR’s host country, China. JIANG Zehui, Co-Chair of INBAR Board of Trustees and Director General of ICBR, and YIN Gangqiang, deputy director general of ICBR also attended the ceremony. Professor JIANG Zehui expressed her belief that Fiji’s membership of INBAR “will surely usher in a new era of rapid development… to the sustainable development of the bamboo and rattan industry in Oceania and the world.”

Bamboo is a key part of life and culture for Fiji and many other Pacific island states, and has been used for centuries for a wide range of purposes, including construction, rafts and fishing traps.

Mr. Tagicakibau, the Ambassador of Fiji to China and INBAR Director General Mr. Ali Mchumo raised the national flag of Fiji outside INBAR Headquarters.

INBAR now has 47 Member States overall, almost all of them developing countries in the tropics and subtropics. INBAR has a very active presence in the Asia-Pacific region, where it has 15 Member States. Prior to the flag-raising ceremony, representatives from a number of Pacific island country Embassies and Commissions, including non-Member States Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and Samoa, and the Trade Commissioner for the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission, were taken on a tour of the Bamboo and Rattan Products Showroom.