New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta is expected in Fiji this week, the second visit to the country by an Aotearoa minister within a week after their Defence Minister Peeni Henare’s called on his Fijian counterpart Inia Seruiratu.
Her first trip to the Pacific since announcing New Zealand’s Pacific Resilience approach last year, Mahuta will meet with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama. Tomorrow, she will attend an event at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, participate in a Fijian women leaders’ roundtable and visit development projects.
“This visit is an important step in reconnecting Aotearoa NZ with our Pacific whanaunga, and an opportunity to engage on key issues facing our region,” Mahuta said.
“As our largest Pacific Island trading partner and host to many of the Pacific’s most important regional institutions, the Fiji–Aotearoa New Zealand relationship is both significant and influential. Over the past two years, COVID-19 has had profound health, economic and social impacts on our Pacific partners and our ability to connect kanohi ki te kanohi. This visit will allow me to discuss and strengthen further opportunities for Aotearoa New Zealand to work alongside Fiji — and their government, leadership, and stakeholders — to deliver long-term resilience for the Fijian people.”
She is expected to return to New Zealand on Thursday 31 March.
