Fiji - Foreign Relations

Fiji has traditionally had close relations with its major trading partners Australia and New Zealand. Currently, a number of countries including Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have placed targeted sanctions on the illegal interim government. Fiji has pursued closer relations with a number of Asian countries, including the People's Republic of China and India.

Since independence, Fiji has been a leader in the South Pacific region. Fiji hosts the secretariat of the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), as well as a number of other prestigious regional organizations. However, in May 2009, the PIF suspended Fiji’s membership for failing to declare elections before the deadline set by the organization.

On 27 January 2009 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders agreed to the imposition of 'targeted measures' against Fiji unless it nominated an election date by 1 May 2009 and holds that election by the end of December 2009. Following the current government's failure to meet the PIF Leaders' requirements and in light of the abrogation of the constitution, dismissal of the judiciary and curtailment of press freedom, the PIF decided - on 2 May 2009 - to suspend Fiji with immediate effect.

At their biennial meeting in Perth, Australia, in October 2011, Commonwealth Heads of Government urged the interim government of Fiji to restore democracy without further delay, to respect human rights and to uphold the rule of law, and reaffirmed that the Commonwealth should continue to remain engaged with Fiji and support efforts towards that end. On 14 March 2014, at CMAG’s 43rd meeting, ministers recognised progress made to hold elections by September 2014 and decided that Fiji’s full suspension from the Commonwealth should be changed to suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth, thus permitting it once again to participate in a range of Commonwealth activities, including the Commonwealth Games.

Fiji was reinstated as a full member of the Commonwealth on 26 September 2014, following a decision by CMAG, at its 44th meeting in New York, when Ministers recognised the credible elections held on 17 September 2014 and the assumption of office by a democratically elected government.

The promotion and establishment of external trade and economic relations through negotiation is an important function of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, However our diplomatic missions abroad assist with the responsibility for trade policy implementation and co-ordination of trade promotion activities. They also identify and encourage potential foreign investors. The Ministry also liaises with the private sector, Tourism Fiji and the Fiji Islands Trade and Investment Bureau in promoting and expanding Fiji’s trade and economic relations. Currently, Fiji has two Trade Offices in Los Angeles and Taipei.

Fiji became the 127th member of the United Nations on October 13, 1970, and participates actively in the organization. Fiji's contributions to UN peacekeeping are unique for a nation of its size. It maintains about 600 soldiers and police overseas in UN peacekeeping missions, primarily in Iraq, MFO Sinai in the Middle East, Sudan, and Liberia. Fiji also has a number of private citizens working in Iraq and Kuwait, mostly in security services, and over 1,500 citizens serving in the British Army.

Relations between the elected government of Fiji and the United States have traditionally been excellent. The United States has limited its relationship with the interim government established by the illegal December 5, 2006 coup. Fiji maintains an embassy in Washington, DC and trade office in Los Angeles, as well as a Permanent Mission in New York at the United Nations. Although the United States provides relatively little direct bilateral development assistance, it contributes as a major member of a number of multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. The U.S. Peace Corps, temporarily withdrawn from Fiji in 1998, resumed its program in Fiji in late 2003. The three pillars of U.S. policy toward Fiji under the coup government are: upholding U.S. law-based sanctions, protecting and promoting U.S. interests in the region, and doing no harm to the people of Fiji.

Membership of international groups/organisations include Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Commonwealth, Colombo Plan, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Group of 77 at the United Nations (G77), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, (ICFTU), International Development Association, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS), International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat), Interpol, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), International Standards for Organisation (ISO) (subscriber), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement (SPARTECA), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific Island Forum (PIF) (but suspended on 2 May 2009), United Nations (UN), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The establishment of Security Cooperation with the Indonesian Police witnessed the visit of the Fijian delegation to Indonesia in 2013 and the reciprocal visit of the Indonesian delegation to Fiji on 6th March 2014 to discuss on the progress of Defence and Security Cooperation with Indonesia. Later in the year, the Ministry of Defence and National Security (MDNS) assisted the Fiji Police and the Indonesian Embassy officials in the clearance of the Anti-Riot Equipment [ARE] which was officially handed to the Fiji Police Force on 27th August 2014.

On 21st July 2014, the visiting Russian Military Technical team paid a courtesy call to the Minister for Defence to talk over the cooperation between the two countries.

The Protocol outlining the Defence aid provided by the People’s Republic of China [PROC] was signed by the Minister for Defence and the Chinese Ambassador on the 14th March 2014. A Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] that had been designed to look into possible areas of cooperation between the two countries was later signed by the President of the People’s Republic of China and the Honourable Minister for Defence on 21st November 2014 in Nadi.

The Ministry of Defence and National Security (MDNS)in coordinated efforts with the RFMF, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and other relevant stakeholders worked with the PROC Embassy officials to coordinate the opportune visit of the Hospital Ship, specifically the medical services that is available to the general public aboard the Ship and also the outreach medical deployment to the selected medical centers in the central division and the maritime island. The Chinese Hospital Ship, Ark Peace to Fiji from 22-29 August 2014 and successfully recorded a total number of 5988 individuals undergoing screening examination in the Ship.

The Ministry coordinated the signing of the Defence MoU between the Commander RFMF and the Head of the General HQ from the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces on 10th June 2014. After the signing of the Defence MoU, there were discussions on the intricacies of the agreement and the establishment of the committee to look into the needs of both Forces and the implementation phase.

The Minister of Defence and National Security, Hon. Ratu Inoke Kubuaboloa and his Indian counterpart Mr Arun Jaitley signed an agreement on 30 May 2017 to develop future engagements in military capabilities, technologies and operations. Signed during a visit by Minister Kubuabola to the Ministry of Defence at the South Block in New Delhi, the agreement begins a journey where both countries partner in areas of intelligence, medical services, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. “This arrangement in future capability is strategic, as well as operational with the intention to improve Fiji’s existing Naval capabilities and to strengthen a systematic military programme under the Fiji-India bilateral framework,” Ratu Inoke added. The Defence Cooperation agreement also addresses research and development, capacity and institutional building.