Port Vila, Vanuatu: Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders returned from their day retreat to Vanuatu capital Port Vila about three hours behind schedule yesterday and offered an olive branch (a symbol of peace) to suspended Fiji on trade talks.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said there was little discussion about Fiji, which was last year suspended from the 16-member group for not following a Forum deadline on holding elections.
Leaders stuck with their decision to keep Fiji out. But there were discussions, initiated by New Zealand, about letting Fiji officially take part in Pacer Plus regional free trade talks, he said.
Fiji is currently excluded from taking part but is given briefings on progress.
(Fiji has said it was a signatory to the original Pacer agreement and is now being illegally excluded from the Pacer Plus negotiations. Melanesian Spearhead Group nations earlier supported Fiji’s position).
Mr Key said: “We’ve asked the Ministerial Contact Group to ask whether Fiji shouldn’t be admitted to the officials group, and the reason for that is that none of the countries have trade or economic sanctions with Fiji.
“So in the course of the next six months or so the Ministerial Contact Group will reconvene, they will take a look at that issue, they will also discuss that with Fiji and see whether that is something they are interested in participating in, and then ultimatley come back and report to leaders...”
A decision would be made before the next Pacific Islands Forum, in New Zealand next year.
Mr Key said as a larger player and significant economy in the Pacific it “may well make sense for them to be engaged at the officials level if we are going to make progress on Pacer Plus”.
Despite Australia being in “caretaker” mode leading into the coming election and not able to change its position on issues, it was supportive of the recommendation.
Mr Key said other discussions included an affirming of a commitment to tackle the issue of climate change.
The topic was discussed repeatedly at the Forum, with concern expressed from some of the smaller island states that rising sea levels, drought and famine presented huge dangers, but not enough was being done at international level to address their plights.
Mr Key said leaders welcomed a commitment announced yesterday by New Zealand to put an extra NZ$4.8 million to support the management and policing of the Pacific’s fisheries, including putting trained observers on fishing boats.
“But generally there was a belief that fisheries is a resource that is under utilised in terms of value, and we’ve agreed to go away and explore how we might maximise that opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Fiji will stay out of trade of talks, despite efforts by the Pacific Islands Forum to re-engage them in trade negotiations.
Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama however says he will discuss the issue further with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials when he returns from China.
“The reason why they’re saying Fiji should be now included in the PACER-Plus talks is because trade talks in the Pacific would be meaningless without Fiji…we had decided earlier on that we will refrain from any talks on PACER-Plus. We will see how things go, when I return I will be talking to our Foreign Affairs officials and see how things go. But we had decided to stay away from PACER Plus discussions."
On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola welcomed NZ Prime Minister John Key’s call to re-engage Fiji in PACER talks.
However Ratu Inoke says PACER is no longer a promising instrument for development as it has been corrupted by regional politics.
He says Fiji had been illegally excluded from talks, and its entry back to PACER would be on its own terms.
The Minister further clarified that PACER Plus was not an immediate priority for Fiji as it is now concentrating on building its trade and economic ties with Asia and with the countries of the Non-Allied Movement.