17 Jun 2008

New Zealand's Prime Minister stresses diplomatic channels with Fiji still open

7:58 am on 17 June 2008

New Zealand's Prime Minister, Helen Clark, has stressed that the diplomatic channels with Fiji are still open.

Miss Clark's comment follows a report by the chairperson of the Global Anti-Corruption Group, Transparency International, Gerald McGhie, who called on New Zealand to reopen diplomatic channels with Fiji's interim government.

The chairman of Transparency International New Zealand said if the United States could talk to North Korea, New Zealand should be able to re-establish relations with its Pacific neighbor, Fiji.

But Helen Clark said the diplomatic channels with Fiji have not been closed off.

She said New Zealand has a High Commissioner in Fiji and the High Commission engages in Fiji as people would expect it to.

Miss Clark said the New Zealand High Commission is particularly active in the joint working group between the Pacific Islands Forum Nations and the interim government.