Pacific Islands Forum ministers meet with Fiji interim PM
11/12/2008 15:36
Fiji interim Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama met in Suva today
with the Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group to discuss the
situation in Fiji.
The Pacific ministers described their discussions with the
Fiji interim prime minister and other key stakeholders as "frank and
informative," the Suva-based Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat said in a
statement.
The Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group (MCG),
comprising the foreign ministers of Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and
Tuvalu, was in Suva to meet with government officials and prominent political
party leaders.
The ministers, in the statement, also expressed disappointment
that the Fiji interim government had confirmed that it did not intend to hold
elections by March 2009, in line with its previous commitments to Forum
leaders.
The ministers said the visit reflected Forum members' continued
commitment to constructive dialogue with Fiji, and to support and encourage Fiji
to return to democracy, within the framework of the decisions of Forum
Leaders.
In Fiji, the Ministerial Contact Group held discussions with the
Fiji interim prime minister, the Electoral Commission officials and some
political party leaders.
The talks focused on the progress of the interim
government's preparations for elections, developments in relation to the
political dialogue process, and the likelihood of political consensus arising
from it, the ministers said in a statement.
Following the talks with the Fiji
interim prime minister, newly appointed New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray
McCully described the meeting as a "positive" one, the Fiji Times online
reported.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith also said the meeting
with Bainimarama was good and he was glad to have come back to Fiji for the
meeting.
The MCG will be preparing a report on Fiji and its preparedness to
hold election in 2009, a report which will be discussed by the Pacific Islands
Forum leaders.
Xinhua
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