Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman, Al Habtoor Group held talks with Fijian President George Konrote on Sunday 5 November 2016. The meeting took place at the Habtoor Grand Resort, Autograph Collection.
President Konrote was in Dubai as part of an official regional tour. His Excellency Konrote look up his post as President of Fiji in November 2015. Before that he was a Major-General in the Fijian military. He is well acquainted with the Middle East having commanded a peacekeeping effort in Lebanon during the Fiji's UNIFIL campaign. He was appointed Deputy Force Commander of the UNIFIL operation, and eventually became the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Force Commander in Lebanon.
The President and Chairman Al Habtoor discussed potential investment opportunities in Fiji, particularly in the hospitality sector. The President informed the Al Habtoor Group Chairman about the lack of available hotel rooms in Fiji. He said there are currently around 30,000 hotel rooms in Fiji, which is not enough to meet demand.
“It was a pleasure to meet President George Konrote,” said Khalaf Al Habtoor. “We are always looking at expanding our hospitality portfolio. We now have a total of 14 hotels; seven in the United Arab Emirates and seven abroad - in the United Kingdom, United States, Lebanon, Austria and Hungary.”
Fiji, an archipelago made up of more than 300 islands located in the South Pacific, has a robust services and tourism sector. It is one of the most developed of the Pacific Island economies, although it remains a developing country. It has a large subsistence agriculture sector and most of its workforce is employed in the agricultural sector.
Also present in the meeting was Captain Julian Toganivalu, Aide de Camp to His Excellency the President; Kamlesh Shashi Prakash, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Fiji to the United Arab Emirates, and Pene Nonu Baleinabuli, Official Secretary to the President.