By Xinhua,
Wellington : The chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) has confirmed Australia and New Zealand will be allowed to participate in ministerial meetings in Fiji next week, the Suva-based Pacnews regional news agency reported Wednesday.
Tongan Prime Minister Fred Sevele said that Fiji’s interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama was aware the Australian and New Zealand foreign ministers would be in Fiji next week to take part in the Ministerial Contact Group meeting on Fiji’s progress toward elections.
“He was fully aware that Australia and New Zealand were part of the group, and there was no question about their attending,” Sevele said.
Since the 2006 coup, Australia and New Zealand have put travel bans on members of Fiji’s military and interim government. The meeting came three weeks after Fiji suspended its involvement with the Pacific Forum joint working group, saying it was being dominated by Australia and New Zealand.
Last week, Australia announced it was allowing Fiji to appoint an acting High Commissioner in Canberra and Consul General in Sydney. Both positions have been vacant since the coup.