Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. 25 July 2023. Photo: Twitter.com / @slrabuka
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 the Fijian people via his official social media platforms, the prime minister said he was using his phone going up stairs 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
— Sitiveni Rabuka (@slrabuka) July 25, 2023
While there was no official communication from the government about it, Rabuka also revealed that there had been an "upcoming trip" to Beijing planned.
"I have had to inform China that I will not be able to undertake the trip that was coming up tomorrow [Wednesday] night," he said.
"I am sure there will be other invitations later on and I hope I will be able to honour that invitation."
He said the "slight bloodstains on my shirt and a little patch on my head" was "nothing to worry about."
"I am sure there will be a lot of speculations but nothing to worry about," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday Rabuka received France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Suva.
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.
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 with a photo with Rabuka, who was still in his blood-stained shirt from the morning's incident.
Fiji Prime Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, left, and French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna in Suva. 25 July 2023. Photo: Twitter.com / @MinColonna
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 cooperation agreement between the two countries," ABC reported.
