P.R. opportunities?

Ratu Mara In Washington

A case of missed P.R. opportunities?

Most of the red carpet - but not all of it - was rolled out for the Prime Minister of Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, during his November visit to Washington.

It was the first official visit by a government leader from an independent Pacific Islands na tion, and official Washington was pleased to see the prime minister. Fiji has been a loyal ally to the United States, receiv ing its navy in its ports and providing troops to peace keeping missions in the Middle East which are much more important to the U.S. than they are to Fiji.

The prime minister had lunch with President Reagan at the White House, had dinner with the vice-president, and re viewed a formal honor guard at the Pentagon. He was escorted around the capital city in the traditional traffic-stopping man ner, riding in a sleek limousine led, and followed, by a phalanx of police cars and motor cycles, their sirens screaming.

The Fiji flag, not well known in Washington, appeared with the U.S. flag on the lamp posts along Pennsylvania Avenue, the elegant boulevard linking the White House with the Capi tol, along which all of the world’s mighty and famous have, at one time or another, ridden in grand style.

But in two major respects, Ratu Mara did not receive as much attention as did a visitor from a smaller, if somewhat richer, nation a few weeks earlier. Luxembourg has about half the population of Fiji (360,000 versus Fiji’s 620,000). But when the Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, the world’s only ruling grand duke, arrived in Washington a few weeks earlier, it was dinner at the White House. (Washington hostesses, including Mrs Reagan, cannot resist European royalty, even those of the minor league.) Further, the grand duke’s visit was covered thor oughly by the press, which also

cannot resist European royalty, while Ratu Mara’s entire cover age (at least in the press read in Washington), consisted of the following line in the November 27 issue of U.SA. Today : “President Reagan meets with the Prime Minister of Fiji, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.”

Fiji missed a major public relations opportunity in Washington. America dotes on small, staunch allies Finland in the late thirties, Norway in World War 11, Taiwan (for many years), and Israel. Fiji could fit into that image,and the prime minister, who towered over many of his hosts with his erect, and chiefly bearing, would have been perfect for the television camera and the newspaper photographers. But none was there.

Ratu Mara was accompanied by a Radio Fiji reporter, but he had no press aide with him, and no-one filled the role from the Fiji mission in the U.S.

Apparently, there were no in terviews.

Between ceremonial func tions during his three days in Washington, Ratu Mara paid close attention to a series of economic opportunities for his nation, in the fields of in ternational aviation, tuna-re lated investments, sale of Fiji sugar (see item in Pacific Re port, this issue), and U.S. deve

lopment assistance.

David

S.North in Washington.

Ratu Mara ... should have blown his trumpet.