John Key had hardly finished punching above his weight by telling China what to do on Fiji and the Pacific (don't give too much aid) when the Melanesian Spearhead Group, never comfortable with Australian and NZ attitudes to Fiji, is giving them back something of the same (don't exclude Fiji from regional trade discussions).
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Fiji Live reports:
Members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group have backed Fiji’s participation in regional trade talks after their meeting in Suva yesterday.
The MSG representatives - from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu - recognized Fiji’s right to participate in regional trade agreements to which it is a party. They also opposed the potential economic fragmentation of the Pacific and the MSG Group through Fiji’s exclusion from regional trade related meetings.
The group revealed in a statement that Vanuatu had proposed a reconciliation process “which would pave the way for open and genuine dialogue amongst leaders at all levels of Fijian society towards promoting the principles and practices of democracy”.
According to the statement, the group welcomed Fiji’s establishment of a new Strategic Framework for Change Co-ordination Office (SFCC) which will facilitate consensus-building through nation-wide reconciliation and dialogue.
Map showing the four MSG members: Google on Forum Secretariat.
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