Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has had to postpone his trip to China after falling down stairs and injuring his head in Suva on Tuesday.
Rabuka, 74, said the “small accident” occurred at the entrance of the government buildings.
In a video statement shared with theFijian people via his official social media platforms, the prime minister said he was using his phone going upstairs when he tripped.
“[It was] not my fault, I was looking at my mobile phone and trying to walk up the steps and I tripped and hurt my head,” he said, with visible bloodstains on his shirt.
“I do not know whether my head is hurt more than the door, or the door hurt more than my head.”
Rabuka is due to visit his doctor again on Friday for a review and to get the dressing changed.
An update on the deferment of my trip to China due to an injury that I sustained earlier today due to a misstep at the entrance to the New Wing of Government Buildings. pic.twitter.com/SYKrRUQPHF
While there was no official communication from the government about it, Rabuka also revealed that there had been an “upcoming trip” to Beijing planned.
Colonna is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s high-level delegation to the Pacific this week and became the first French foreign minister to visit the country.
Fiji Prime Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, left, and French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna in Suva. Photo / twitter.com/@MinColonna
In a tweet, Colonna said “I am in Fiji to develop our cooperation: fight against illegal fishing, renewable energies, responses to climate crises, sovereignty,” accompanied by a photo with Rabuka, who was still in his blood-stained shirt from the morning’s incident.
ABC reports that “Rabuka’s government has had a testy relationship with Beijing since winning power late last year”.
“The new prime minister angered Chinese officials when he promised to review and potentially scrap an old police co-operation agreement between the two countries,” ABC reported.
